The Cameron Effect: Book 1: Marauders Era
by Ejmcmoon
Summary: Mata and Andrea Cameron aren't normal even by wizard standards. Mata's deaf and Andrea's an insomniac. Descendants of the Hogwarts founder Helga Hufflepuff, the Camerons are known for their deadly powers and their glowing yin yang lockets. Mata and Andrea, like their lockets, are complete opposites and when they go to Hogwarts, it doesn't take long for everyone to figure this out.
1. Prologue

_*Third Person PoV*_

 _*1961*_

The cloaked figure pushed the young man forward, and he grunted in pain. His shoulder length auburn hair was a tangled mess, his brilliant blue eyes darting around frantically.

"My lord, we've found the spy," the cloaked figure said, discarding his mask. "It is the son of Dante Cameron."

The leader stepped forward, eyeing the young man closely. "So this is the rebel. Here, my friends, is the great Adrian Cameron!"

The rest of the group-a group who had come to calling themselves the Death Eaters-jeered at their new hostage. The young man growled, and struggled to escape from his bonds.

"I know what you are, Riddle!" he spat. "I know you're a monster, and I know about your plans! You will not succeed!"

"Is that so?" the leader sneered, an arrogant smirk plastered to his distorted features. "I did not know that the Camerons' so-called special powers extended to that of Divination."

The Death Eaters guffawed in the background. Adrian gritted his teeth in frustration. If they hadn't _drugged_ him, his powers might've worked. How the hell did they manage to block his powers, anyway?

"My family's legendary powers are of no concern to you, you son of a banshee!" Adrian retorted,

trying to clear his mind, but the drug was starting to kick in. If he didn't find a way to find a way to escape soon. . .well, Adrian didn't want to think about _that_.

 _Where's Newt when you need him?_ he thought desperately.

"So," Riddle mused, "what shall we do with you? I doubt dear Evelyn would be very happy if she found your dead body in the morning. Or vice versa."

"Don't you dare hurt Evelyn!" he hissed, feeling sick at the thought of his beloved wife being in danger.

"I can do as I please," Riddle replied smugly. "After all, no one would know if one, insignificant blood traitor went missing, would they?"

"You are the traitor, Riddle! You have shamed wizard kind!" Adrian declared. "You have learned what was not meant to be learnt, and _that_ is your downfall!"

"Keep talking, Cameron. Talking will not stop your family from being murdered tonight." Riddle turned to the Death Eaters. "We have something to do. Set course for the Cameron Mansion."

Adrian's heart sank to his toes.

"And you," Riddle continued, turning back to Adrian, "shall stay here. Rosier, take him to the camp."

"NO!" Adrian yelled. "You won't _touch_ my family!"

Suddenly the ground surrounding him responded to his will, and all of the Death Eaters were lifted off their feet, giving him time to awkwardly stand up, his hands still tied behind his back. Adrian closed his eyes, and cast his mind out to the only person who could help him at that moment.

 _"Newt, I need your help NOW! Evelyn's in trouble!"_

The next thing he knew, the chains holding him shattered. He looked up into the starry night sky, and saw a sixty-four year old man soaring towards him on a hippogriff.

 _Of course he'd be riding on a hippogriff_ , Adrian thought, chuckling.

 _"I find brooms a little too temperamental, m'boy,"_ Newt retorted. _"Now get out of there, and go protect my cousin like you promised you would!"_

 _"I will,"_ he vowed. _"You got this under control?"_

 _"Age doesn't make me weaker, young man! Now GO!"_

Adrian didn't need another telling. Just as Riddle moved to Apparate, he jumped forward, and grabbed onto the hem of his robes. He heard Riddle swear under his breath as they both spun on the spot, and landed in the front lawn of Cameron Mansion.

"When I married Evelyn, I told her I'd protect her at all costs," he said, smirking. "I'm not breaking that promise anytime soon."

"Has your selfless Gryffindor wife rubbed off on you?" Riddle replied, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Adrian knocked him over with a mountain of dirt, and ran towards the mansion. "EVELYN! Evelyn! Take the twins, and run! He's here! Riddle's here!" he yelled.

The face of his wife appeared as soon as he opened the door. "Adrian, what the he ll did you do?!" she asked, sounding terrified.

"I got caught while spying for Dumbledore," he panted, boarding up the door. "Newt helped me out, but now Riddle's here!"

"Then we don't have much time," she said grimly. "I'll hide Mata and Andrea in the basement. If Riddle's here, it's not safe to go out."

"But-"

"Please, Adrian," Evelyn begged, looking him straight in the eye. "I can't lose you to that monster."

"You won't," he said, swiftly kissing her on the cheek. "I'll help you hide the twins, and we'll only fight if necessary."

"Good." She pulled her long curtain of brown hair into a ponytail. "Let's go."

Adrian felt very solemn as he walked into the nursery where his two daughters slept. The first one to wake up was Mata. She stared at him with her brilliant blue eyes that were so much like his.

"Dada?"

"Come on, Mata," he said gently. "We're just going to take you down to the basement for a little while."

"Where Andwea?" Just as she said this, Evelyn picked up Andrea up from the crib on the other side of the room.

"Mama has Andrea," Adrian told her, picking her up gently. He groaned as he heard more men Apparating onto the lawn. "We had better hurry."

All four of them rushed down the stairs and into the freezing cold, concrete lined basement. If they were lucky, Riddle wouldn't notice the tile they had lifted that lead to their sanctuary.

Using his magic, mostly wandless, Adrian managed to board up the entry point. "We need a plan," he told his wife as soon as he was certain they wouldn't be heard. Evelyn winced as the sounds of a door being blasted open came from upstairs

"We sure do." Adrian began pacing the concrete floor, a habit of his mostly used to think or calm his nerves. Both, in this circumstance.

"If the twins were older, I'd say we Apparate," he said, eliminating options as they came.

"They aren't. We need a plan for now, not three years into the future!" Evelyn answered haughtily, sitting on a nearby bench with the twins bouncing on her knees.

The two girls began to sob. For any other family, it'd be normal for infants to cry during an attack, but the Camerons weren't normal. Even by wizard standards. A nearby object exploded at the children's cries, and vines began to climb a wall.

"Good lord," Evelyn gasped at the sight.

"Floo?" Adrian suggested, more to himself than her.

"Adrian, where are your parents' lockets?" his wife asked, still staring at the destruction her children had caused.

After a moment of thought, in which no place came to mind, Adrian decided on summoning the lockets instead of looking for them. "Right here."

Evelyn took the lockets and clasped one around the neck of each child. "Good. Yin for Andrea, and yang for Mata."

"How do you know all this?" he asked in awe, stopping his pacing.

"Just trust me. I'm putting the lockets on the twins now because I know they won't choke them; they're enchanted, after all. Didn't you see what just happened?"

"Fair-" Adrian began, but the house above him rattled. "Be okay to take the Floo?" He asked hurriedly.

"We won't get there on time," she said gravely. Then she had a lightbulb moment, I guess you could say. "I've an idea." She let go of the lockets and grinned as they shone brightly. To say her husband was shocked would be a massive understatement. If anything, he was perplexed and a touch worried.

"My God. Are they that powerful already?"

Mata and Andrea stopped their tears, and the house ceased its rattling.

"They're Camerons! What else would you expect?" she said proudly. Then her expression turned grave. "Unfortunately, they're too powerful for their own good."

The voice of Riddle floated down the stairs, full of anger and slight shock. "What is the meaning of this, Cameron?!" he shouted.

"What's happened now?" Adrian asked, wringing his hands. If it was enough to cause Riddle to ask, it couldn't be good. His wife chuckled slightly, smiling.

"No idea, but it ticked him off."

"Oh, God." Adrian clutched his head. "Feel that energy?" he asked painfully.

Evelyn brought the heel of her hand to her forehead in an attempt to stop her splitting headache. "It'll split my head open!"

Riddle yelled in pain from upstairs. "You'll pay for this one, Cameron!" For once, Evelyn decided to hold her tongue. A moment later, a blinding light filled the Cameron manner, leaving everyone blinded to everything around them.

It vanished as fast as it came, and their sight returned to them.

"Did this happen when you parents. . .you know-?" Evelyn was at a loss for words. Apparently, there was a first time for everything.

"I don't remember this ever happening," he admitted.

"Then how-?"

"Retreat, men! Retreat!" Came Riddle's voice. What would cause him to leave without his goal accomplished?

"Riddle sounds awfully muggle, doesn't he?" Adrian chuckled lightly.

"Apparently, he grew up in an orphanage full of them, so I'm not surprised," Evelyn shrugged, holding the twins as she stood.

"You think he might be gone?" he asked. The smug look on their infantile faces gave the adults a pretty good answer, but Evelyn invaded Riddle's labyrinth of a mind just to be sure.

"He's gone."

"Good. Shall we go see what these little troublemakers did?" Adrian replied.

"Part of me's worried that the house will collapse on us," she fretted. "What else would Riddle run from?'

"If it will, the basement's the worse place to be," he reasoned.

"One of the many times I'm glad I married a Ravenclaw," Evelyn answered, realizing what he meant.

Adrian smiled. "Come on, Love. Let's go," he said, taking Andrea from her, and removing the barricade quickly with wandless magic, feeling a pleasant tingle on his chest as his own locket emitted a soft glow. Leading the way up the stairs, Adrian gasped when he saw what had become of the main room.

"Holy sh*t!" Evelyn breathed.

A gigantic swamp covered the wooden floor, while vines cover the walls. Stray Death Eater masks floated in the water. The twins had scared away Riddle with wandless and nature magic combined. Both parents were shell shocked.

"I know my parents never did anything like this," he admitted.

"They're too powerful to grow up together," she told him, sounding almost frightened. "They're not even two years-old, and this is what happens when we put on the lockets!"

"Where would we take them?" Adrian asked.

"I've a friend in America. Two really good friends," Evelyn answered. "One is a muggle born, and the other's a pen pal, met her right before I went to Hogwarts."

"America sounds good," he said approvingly. "Riddle hasn't taken over much there, has he?"

"No, he's just focused on Britain." She gave a small sob. "I'm going to miss these two."

"Well, the main problem is accidental magic," said Adrian. "Maybe we can arrange it so that they go to Hogwarts."

"I'd murder Dumbledore if they didn't go," Evelyn vowed.

"In all honesty, I would, too. Plus, they'd be safe there."

"I'll owl them now," Evelyn said, referring to her friends. She choked up. "Best not to waste time."

"I'll put these two to bed," he said solemnly, slinging an arm around his wife. She leaned into him.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Conjuring a swamp from a wooden floor would take a toll on anyone." Adrian laughed, seeing the girls already asleep, holding hands across their parents. It seemed almost cruel to separate them, but they knew there was no alternative. Evelyn slowly handed Mata to Adrian and watched him trot down a corridor and turn from sight.

"They'll be here in a couple of days," Evelyn said sadly after Adrian joined her at the dining table.

He gave a sad smile. "Good, two more days to be with our little girls."

"Two days are better than none," she reasoned. "And I don't think Riddle will be in a hurry to come back."

"I don't think he'll be in a hurry to mess with the Cameron twins, either," he chuckled.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is a story I'm writing with my friend, who's getting an FFN account soon, so I'll mention her when that happens. Also, WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT OCs AND ADDED PLOT LINE**

* * *

*Andrea's PoV*

"Mom," I groaned, with a mix of a whine, as I tapped my foot impatiently. I wanted _out_ of this nut hole! Some would call my house a palace. Me? I call it a prison. Not that I'm necessarily mistreated, but my adoptive parents were _extremely_ strict, absolutely no fun whatsoever, and I hardly ever got out of the house. My only escape was books. My guardians also insisted on babying me. Even though I've proved countless times that I can take care of myself.

My brunette guardian huffed through her nose at my impatience and set her coffee down slowly. She never was very thrilled of letting me out of her sight for more than an hour, unless I was locked in my room-but even then she'd knock on the door every so often to ensure I was still in there. There was no way she was going to be glad about having me out of her sight for ten months! Finally, she stood up with a look of caution on her face. With the noseless idiot milling around the streets of Britain, I understand her uncertainty. But, really, I could take care of myself!

I finally marched over to her from the door and dragged her with me outside. "I can take care of myself, Mom!" I whined as she fussed over my hair. I swatted her hand away.

"I know, Andy, but ten months? That's a long time," she said, looking forlorn. Her brown eyes were trained on our car as we walked. I sighed happily and nodded. A long time to make friends that weren't fictional characters, fall in love with heroes outside of the pages of book, a long time to make enemies matching those of my stories, and a long time away from the nut house I was so anxious to leave. A long time for change. I sighed again.

"Yes. It is." I smiled to myself. I should have felt like a bad person, smiling when I was about to leave the only place I had known for the past year for ten months. But, that's why I didn't. I knew almost _nothing_ outside of the brick walls of my two story home in Godric's Hollow.

Mom choked up a bit, like she usually did before she would cry. "Mom, I'll be at Hogwarts! With witches and wizards! Voldemort's not going to get in. I'll be fine," I said, stopping to look up at her. I ignored her flinch at the name, but-as always-she didn't scold me for it.

"Just. . .promise to write?" she asked hopefully. Why was it that I always felt like the mature one in my adopted family? Even though I wanted to be a complete child, completely insane. Like I was deep down, but always covered up. I nodded. "Once a week?"

"Once a month," I bargained. I didn't feel as bad as I should have about saying that. Cutting off ties from them for a whole month only brought a smile to my face.

"But-" Mom protested.

"Would you rather it be not at all?" I asked, playing the same card she would when I argued. She huffed and glared down at me.

"Andrea Eve Connor," she said sternly, pointing her finger in my face. When she used my middle name, and my adopted last name, I knew I had messed up. Surprisingly, that didn't scare me. I'd never been grounded a day in my life and I'd never felt the crack of a belt on my backside. Something else to make me hate this place even more. I would be scolded, and told to sit in my room. Neither of which were a real punishment, "do _not_ speak to me like that."

"I already did. Nothing I can do about it now." I smirked, flinging my suitcase into the trunk of the black Pontiac. Mom, who's real name was Kambria, spluttered. She couldn't think of anything to say. She huffed indignantly, threatened to lock my bookcase when I came home, and climbed in the passenger seat of the car. My adoptive dad, Rob, was in the driver's seat. I pulled out my book _Kindred_ and closed the trunk. I slid into the torn leather back seats and began reading. The ride was silent, the only sounds were the conversations of characters playing out in my head.

"We're here," my blonde adopted father announced when we pulled into King's Cross. I smiled, placed a necklace to mark my page, and shut my book. I didn't know how far the ride was, but I knew it felt like a second to me. I unbuckled my seatbelt before the car had even begun to slow down and unlocked my door.

My guardians didn't know much about magic-they claimed, so neither did I. But, I did know the feel of something powerful at your control. Mostly because I had caused a tree to fall on a three story house they had almost bought when we first moved to England from America. "See ya at Christmas, Punk?" Rob joked.

"Nope," I said confidently as he popped the trunk and stopped the car. Before I could be questioned, I was out the door, pulling my trunk to the barrier. Professor Flitwick, a squat little man that apparated all the way to America to explain things to me, had told me about Platform 9 3/4. It was a brick column between platforms 9 and 10 that I had to run through.

"Wait up!" Kambria cried as she and Rob ran to catch up with me. I rolled my eyes at them and surveyed my surroundings. I spotted a girl who looked like she could be my stunt double and saw that a dark-skinned woman was fussing over her.

"Remember, Mata-if there's any trouble, just owl us and we'll come get you. And don't forget that technique I taught you!"

The girl nodded along, looking extremely bored and slightly irritated-as though she had heard this lecture many times before. After a few moments, the woman stopped fussing, gave the girl a kiss on her forehead, and waved at her. The girl looked relieved as she walked away, cautiously pushing her trolley through the crowd and constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her. By the time she was at the barrier, I could only see her back.

"You can go before me," I told her kindly. "I'm in no rush."

It seemed as if she hadn't heard me, because she didn't answer me or even turn around. I tried again, louder this time.

"You can go through the barrier before me, you know!" I practically yelled, earning a disapproving look from Kambria. I guess it was hard to sound polite while you were yelling. "I really don't mind!" The girl didn't even acknowledge that she had heard anything. _Rude,_ I thought with a huff.

Deciding that she obviously wasn't going to answer me, I went around her and charged through the barrier. Rob and Kambria followed.

"Bye, Andy!" my adoptive mother said, starting to actually tear up now. "Be careful!"

Suppressing an eye roll, I told her that I would be careful, allowed her to give me a bone crushing hug, and hurried off, wanting to escape from my overbearing adoptive parents.

The platform was crowded and busy, filled with parents hugging their children, hooting owls, and meowing cats. I even thought I saw a ferret, but it must've been my imagination; students weren't allowed to bring ferrets to school.

"You'd better hurry up and get on the train," said a voice from behind me, "otherwise you'll be late."

I whipped around and saw a boy with dark eyes and long, greasy black hair staring at me. I smiled at him.

"I was just about to do that," I replied. "I'm Andrea Connor, by the way."

"Severus Snape," he said, shaking my hand and forcing a smile onto his own lips. It seemed as though he didn't do that particular action very much.

"Nice to meet you, Sev," I answered. Severus brightened up a bit at the sound of the nickname.

"You too, Andy." Suddenly I saw the girl who had ignored me earlier. She was struggling through the noisy platform, and the frown etched on her face indicated that she didn't like it at all. Someone bumped into her from behind and she shrieked, like she hadn't expected them to barge into her. She then staggered on one foot and fell right into Sev, who toppled over as well.

"Watch it!" he snarled, springing to his feet. I gave him a "Did you really just say that?!" look and thwacked him on the head. I was about to help the girl up, but she was already on her feet and had taken out her wand. Sev-who probably thought she was going to hex him or some sh*t like that-didn't appreciate this.

"You don't know any spells yet, so don't even try!" he told her haughtily. The girl rolled her eyes at him and began to use her wand like a pencil, drawing blue letters in the air.

 _ **Oh, I'm sorry that you dress too dark to be seen, Greasy**_ _,_ she wrote, her expression mirroring his haughty one.

Sev began to say something, obviously ignoring her odd form of communication. I shushed him and started to think. She ignored me earlier, not even flinching when I started yelling at her. And now she was communicating by drawing letters in the air with her wand...

"Sev, she's-" I began.

The girl turned to me. _**Deaf. Yeah,**_ she clarified. _ **But I can still lip read**_ **.**

"So then you'll understand that I don't like to-" Sev started to say angrily. I honestly thought that he was being a tad bit childish about this whole thing, but I kept my mouth shut. After all, shehad been rude, too.

 _ **Calm it, dude**_ **,** the girl scribbled through the air. _**I didn't push you off a cliff.**_

She walked away and let a wizard dressed in formal robes take her luggage onto the train, before boarding it herself. Severus sent a look of deep dislike at her as she disappeared.

"Hey," I told him. "Give her a break. She's deaf."

"She's still a rude prat," he muttered, rolling his eyes at the look that I gave him. Seeing that he clearly wasn't going to budge, I decided to change the subject.

"Let's just get on the train," I said.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Is it okay if we sit with my other friend? I promised that I'd meet her once we both got here, but it seems like she's already on the train."

"Sure!" It would be nice to get to know more people, and Sev seemed decent, so then his friend must be as well. I was still curious about that deaf girl, though. I mean, how often is it that you meet someone who could be your identical twin and then find out that they're deaf? There was something odd about her and I knew it.

Sev beckoned me forward and together we left our trunks in the luggage cart, before climbing onto the train.

"I'd like to change into my robes first," he told me. "That okay?"

"Yep!" I answered. "I'll wait for you outside the changing rooms."

It didn't take Sev very long to change into his Hogwarts uniform. I figured that he had wanted to get out of his slightly ragged muggle clothes as quickly as possible. Once he was finished, we both made our way down the aisle, looking for his friend. Sev told me that she was a muggle-born named Lily Evans and that he thought she'd like me.

After a good ten minutes of searching, we finally found the redhead sitting in a compartment with three other people, staring out the window despondently. I immediately recognized the girl who had knocked over Sev earlier (why did I keep bumping into her?). She was fiddling with a cassette player, looking at it the way I'd look at books. I saw a small grin play across the brunette's lips as she took out the actual cassette tape and started fiddling with that as well.

There were also two other boys; one had wavy, shoulder-length black hair and grey eyes, while the other had messy jet black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. They were sitting next to the deaf girl, but naturally, their loud chatter didn't bother her in the slightest.

I diverted my gaze to Sev's ginger friend. She looked like she had been crying, and when she finally acknowledged our presence, she told Sev in a strangled voice: "I don't want to talk to you."

"But I brought a friend, Lil," he said enthusiastically, gesturing to me. "She really wants to meet you."

"I do," I told her, being one hundred percent honest. "I don't really have any friends-save Sev of course. I'm Andrea Connor, but you can call me Andy."

Lily gave me a half smile. "Nice to meet you, Andy,"

I returned the smile and sat next to her, while Sev sat across from us. We talked for a bit, and I told them about my adoptive parents. Lil told me that she had an older sister who didn't like witches and wizards; I frowned at this. Who wouldn't like magic? It only made life easier!

Then the talk turned to the four houses of Hogwarts. Flitwick had explained those to me as well. Gryffindor was for the brave and daring, Slytherin was for the cunning and ambitious, Hufflepuff was for the kind and just, and Ravenclaw was for the clever and intelligent. Gryffindor sounded cool to me, but Sev obviously favored Slytherin.

"You two had better be in Slytherin!" he told Lil and I.

The messy haired boy with glasses stopped his conversation and looked at us. "Slytherin?" he questioned, crinkling his nose as though he didn't like it one bit. Then he turned to Miss I-Love-Mechanics-More-Than-People, and said, "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

I groaned and mentally face-palmed myself, sharing a "He's an idiot" look with Sev. _That's right, Specky. Talk to the girl who can't hear and is too immersed in her cassette player to respond even if she COULD hear._

Naturally, Miss I-Love-Mechanics-More-Than-People didn't answer him. Specky frowned for a split second and then said, "You deaf?" He clearly didn't consider the possibility that she really _was_ deaf and was obviously joking. Though this didn't stop me from whacking him over the head with my book.

 _Idiot_ , I thought, giving him a dirty look before yelling, "No fucking shit, Sherlock!"

The deaf girl suddenly jerked her head upwards, put down her mechanics, and studied everyone, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The boy looked extremely embarrassed and slightly bemused.

"Oh. I-erm..."

She was staring at him, taking in his expression and body language. It was like she was scanning him or something. Suddenly realization dawned on her face and she looked slightly annoyed. I smirked to myself. That's what he got for joking around with that phrase.

The girl took out her wand and started using it like she had back on the platform. Only this time, she wrote on the window instead of using thin air. I figured it was probably easier for her that way.

 _ **Yeah, I'm deaf, doofus**_ _,_ she said. I couldn't help but snort; the boy's facial expression was priceless.

Then she looked at me, but the piercing and irritated look that she had given the boy was replaced with something else. She looked hopeful.

 _ **Did someone say..**_ _._ the girl started to write, before pausing. Her forehead creased, as if she was thinking deeply. _**...I-**_ She suddenly stopped writing, mulling it over some more.

"Go on," I encouraged.

 _ **I-dee-ote.**_

I froze. She couldn't have heard that. First off, she was _deaf_. And second of all, even people who _could_ hear weren't able to hear people's thoughts.

 _Holy fuck, that's creepy,_ I thought, wondering what the h*ll was up with this girl and whether or not she'd be able to hear that as well.

It seemed like she had, because she flinched and was now rubbing her temples. She picked up her wand again and started writing. _**I didn't know hearing was supposed to hurt this much.**_

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Did my thoughts give deaf people headaches? Was it thoughts in general? Or were deaf people's mind-ears just really sensitive? (Yes, I said "mind-ears." Deal with it.)

Meanwhile, Sev was still glowering at dear old Specky. I could tell he already didn't like the guy, and the fact that Specky had insulted Slytherin-which was clearly Sev's favorite house-didn't make things any better. And by the looks of it, Specky didn't like Sev that much either.

I rolled my eyes at their glaring match. It seemed childish to me. Who cared if you were in Gryffindor or Slytherin?

The deaf girl suddenly pressed her wand to the window again and said, _**What's Slytherin?**_ This confused me because I hadn't thought anything about Slytherin and she wasn't paying attention when we had actually talked about it.

I decided to write in the air like she did. Maybe it'd be easier for her. _A house here at Hogwarts where the cunning and ambitious go._ I wrote.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," said the boy next to Specky.

"Blimey," said Specky, "and I thought you seemed alright."

Miss I-Love-Mechanics-More-Than-People wrote on the window again, a puzzled look on her face. _I only heard a girl's voice, not you two._ _ **At least, I think I did.**_ She paused, cleared the cluttered window, and continued writing. _ **Anyway, what's wrong with Slytherin?**_

The girl suddenly slapped her ears and groaned. "What's wrong?" I asked her, remembering she could read lips.

 _ **Nothing.**_

I wasn't very convinced, but I didn't press. Her business was her business, and I usually made it a point to only ask what was wrong once before letting it go.

"The people there aren't the nicest," Specky's friend said to the deaf girl. He broke into a grin. "Hey. Maybe I'll break tradition." He then turned to Specky. "Where're you headed, if you've got a choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad!" he exclaimed, lifting an imaginary sword.

The girl let out a raspy croak which I could only assume was her attempt at a laugh. It was painful to hear, to be honest. Laughing was my favorite thing to do besides reading; I didn't want to think who I'd be if I was unable to laugh.

Severus scowled. I shoved him lightly. "Is that your _only_ facial expression?" I told him, exasperation lacing my words.

"You got a problem with Gryffindor?" Specky asked Severus.

"Well, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-" drawled my friend.

The boy with dark curly hair cut him off: "Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"

 _ **Burn!**_ the girl scrawled across the window.

I glared at her before stomping on the boy's foot. "Don't be a bitch!" I exclaimed. I turned on Severus. "You too! Gryffindor actually seems pretty cool and I like to think I have a suitable intelligence."

Lily was glaring at Specky and his friend when she addressed Severus and I. "Come on, you two," she said, "Let's find another compartment."

I stood, waved at everyone in the compartment, and walked out. Severus stumbled as he followed-Specky had tried to trip him-and Specky's voice called after him as Severus followed me:

"See ya, Snivellus!" I had to clench my teeth to stop myself from waltzing back in there and breaking ol' Specky's glasses; I had an extremely short temper, and messing with my friends was one of the many ways to piss me off quicker than normal.

Lily, Severus, and I found an empty compartment near the middle of the train and sat down.

"Well, they're a bunch of gits," Severus commented, almost immediately after sitting.

"You weren't very un-git-like yourself, Sev," I snapped. "Though I do agree that the use of 'Snivellus' was a bit much."

"Agreed," said Lily. After a moment, she asked, "How's that deaf girl going to survive school, though? I know she can most likely lip read, but for other things. . . I mean, I don't think Hogwarts has sign language interpreters."

"Probably quick-quote quills," said Severus without batting an eye.

"Huh?" Lily and I chorused.

Severus sighed. "They write down every word someone says."

"Sweet!" I jeered. I'd probably get myself some of those. Keep up on my notes and my sleep; it was always nearly impossible for me to sleep (stupid insomnia!). My mind started to piece together how the girl had thought she'd heard anything when we all knew she couldn't hear anything at all..

"Er, Andy? You okay?" Lily asked after a moment of my silence. She could probably already tell that I didn't often like to be quiet.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Well, some sense, anyway. "Guys, I think she can hear people's thoughts!" It was a seemingly impossible idea, but it was the only thing that made any sense. Besides, you can't spell "impossible" without "possible".

"How would someone do that?" asked Lily, utterly perplexed.

"I dunno," I shrugged, "but I was the only one thinking 'Idiot' at the time and she'd cover her ears even when we weren't talking."

"So she can hear people think, but not when they're talking out loud?" Lily concluded. "That's jacked up."

I shrugged again. "Life is jacked up."

"I suppose," Severus agreed.


	3. Chapter 2

*Mata's PoV* "Erm...sorry about not realizing that you-er-" said the boy with glasses. Or, at least, I was pretty sure that was what he said.

 _ **Oh, forget it, Specky.**_ I wrote, my blue eyes twinkling.

Specky started laughing, I think. "You like my glasses?" he asked.

 _ **When did I ever say that?**_

The curly-haired flirt's eyes crinkled in amusement and he grinned at me before turning his attention to the compartment door (trust me, he's a flirt). I followed his gaze and saw that a sandy-haired boy was patiently standing outside. He had pale blue eyes, his face was covered in scars, and he had a book tucked under his arm.

Mr. Flirt gestured for him to come in and he slid open the door.

"Can I-?"

Specky nodded and said something else, but I couldn't tell what it was since he wasn't facing me. It was obvious that he had given his permission, because the sandy-haired boy sat down across from me and immediately started reading his book. I huffed through my nose.

For some reason, I always got annoyed when people immediately started doing something without introducing themselves first. Don't get me wrong! I was perfectly fine with someone getting lost in their book _after_ they had acknowledged my presence. If I wasn't, I'd be a total hypocrite, because my mechanics become my sole purpose in living once I start fiddling. But at least I _try_ to acknowledge other people the vicinity!

Anyway, I ended up poking Bookboy on the nose with my wand-mostly to make him look up at me and to express my annoyance at his poor socializing skills.

 _ **Rude!**_ I wrote, sending him the stink eye.

To my amusement, there was a red mark on the spot where I had poked him. Bookboy glanced up at me, looking utterly confused.

"What the-?"

 _ **I'm deaf, BOOKBOY**_ , I told him, utilizing the new nickname I created for the fine specimen sitting in front of me. _**And you didn't even introduce yourself!**_

Suddenly I felt someone grip my shoulder and turned to see Specky shaking with laughter. His glasses were on the verge of falling off his nose and his cheeks were red.

 _ **Bug off, Specky**_ **,** I wrote, after cleaning the window for the second time that day. It seemed like I'd have to find a more efficient way of communicating with other people.

Specky shook his head, and I stuck my tongue out at him before turning my attention back to the sandy-haired boy. _Well?_ I scribbled, puffing out my cheeks to emphasize my impatience.

He hesitated. "Erm..." He brought out his own wand and tried to write on the window like I did. The results were a bit distorted, but oh well. _**Remus Lupin.**_

Werewolf McWerewolf. Interesting.

 _Nice to meet you_ , I answered. _**And I can lip read. You don't need to write like that.'Cause you suck at it.**_

Remus looked slightly annoyed at my nonexistent filter, but hid it quickly. "Okay," he said. "What's your name?

 _ **Mata Dunphy**_ **,** I wrote.

He nodded and turned to the two boys sitting next to me. "You two?"

"James Potter," said Specky, a proud smile plastered to his face.

"Sirius Black," said Mr. Flirt. A grin spread across my face.

 _ **I'm calling you Siri from now,**_ I told him.

"Then I'm calling you Mats," he answered, his eyes lighting up.

I considered my new nickname for a few moments. I'd never had a nickname before. Holly (my adoptive mother) had always called me Mata and Gregor, her thirteen year-old son, followed suit. This was mostly because he and I weren't very close, and he never bothered to come up with a nickname.

 _ **Fair enough**_ **,** I said.

I was about to go back to fiddling with my cassette player, but suddenly realized that everyone in the compartment was looking at the door. A squat, plump boy with blonde hair had knocked. He looked extremely nervous-as though he'd been rejected many times. James nodded for him to come in and he slid the compartment door open.

"Can I sit here?" he asked.

 _ **Sure**_ **,** I scribbled. _**Name?**_

The last part was meant to be a joke, but the boy didn't seem to get this. He just looked very confused. Perhaps it was my odd form of communication that had tripped him up.

"She's deaf, but _can_ lip read," James explained.

Remus gave me a playful wink. "And she also has an obsession with knowing people's names," he added, grinning. I picked up the nearest book (which happened to be the one he was reading at that very moment) and whacked him over the head.

The boy at the door's mouth fell into an o-shape. After a moment, he said, "Erm...Peter Pettigrew."

I nodded. _**Well, come on in!**_

* * *

If there's one thing I've learned during my eleven years on Earth, it's that certain people make an impact on you. Whether it's good or bad depends on the person, but they still leave their mark. And that mark never goes away.

The thirteen year-old girl that walked into my compartment on the first day of school left a _very, very_ bad mark on me. And I'm happy to say that I left a similar mark on her.

Anyway, this hag waltzed in with her younger sister, giggling her arse off and holding her head high as though she owned the entire train. One look at her and I knew she was trouble.

"Can we _help_ you, Bellatrix? Narcissa?" Sirius asked. The unpleasant scowl etched onto his face confirmed my guess that he knew them and didn't like them one bit.

 _ **Yeah,**_ I added, tapping the window after writing to get their attention, _**didn't your parents ever teach you to knock before entering?**_

Apparently their parents didn't teach them common courtesy either, because both girls continued their laughing fit without even acknowledging the fact that there were five other people present. And I _knew_ they had noticed me, because the older one's eyes flickered to the window for a split second.

Sirius' scowl was rapidly becoming wider, and I decided to step in before he lost his temper.

 _ **Hello!**_ I wrote-this time in the air-whacking them both over the head with Remus' book and stomping on their feet. _**I thought I was the only deaf one around here!**_

The older girl turned on me, sneering. "Look at that, Cissy," she said, "a freak among witches. You don't see that everyday."

Needless to say, she got huge middle finger sent in her direction. And _no_ , it does not mean "screw you" in sign language, idiots.

Sirius stood up abruptly, fists clenched. "Get out," he answered, his eyes slits. I could tell he was about to blow at her.

"I don't think we will."

His face turned slightly red in anger and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when the compartment door slid open again. The brunette girl from earlier (who also had the potential of being my stunt double, funnily enough) had entered. She looked soaked to the bone and her expression mirrored Sirius': absolutely pissed. I could almost imagine the anger in her voice when she spoke.

"What the hell was that for?!" she demanded, glowering at Bellatrix and Narcissa.

They simply busted out laughing.

After she was finished laughing, Bellatrix smirked at the girl. "It was meant for the mudblood," she replied.

I suddenly had a flashback to when I was nine years old. Someone at Gregor's school orientation had called Holly "mudblood" and he had threatened to pulverize them if they ever called his mother that again. The only thing that had kept him from beating the crap out of them right there and then was Holly's pleas to "not turn to violence."

Although, she had looked just as angry as Gregor-if not more.

 _ **Shut your face-hole, hag**_ **,** I told Bellatrix, my eyes flashing.

"You've no right to tell me what to do," the third year retorted, with her hands on her hips. "Oh, right," she added after a moment's pause, "you _can't_ speak."

 _Be glad that I can't,_ I thought, _because the crap that'd come out of my mouth might puncture your oversized ego._

The girl who had entered our compartment slapped Bella upside the head. "Don't call Lil a mudblood," she snarled, "and sure as h*ll don't make fun of the girl who can't hear."

Preach, Sista. Preach.

"You can't tell me what to do either, Miss Goody Goody."

 _ **She just did tell you what to do,**_ I wrote, flashing Bella a cold smile. _**Deal with it.**_

"Who asked for your opinion, you deaf freak?" she sneered.

That was the last straw.

I stood up and straightened my back so I could get in her face. _**You have three seconds to get the h*ll out of this compartment,**_ I warned her. _ **I may be deaf, but that doesn't mean I can't bitch slap you into next month.**_

"I think we know a lot more spells than you do," Bella countered, smirking.

"Doesn't mean we can't kick your *ss," the other girl told her.

I pocketed my wand and held up three fingers on my right hand. Bella and Narcissa seemed to get the message but didn't move one inch.

"Two." The girl held up two fingers. I nodded at her and held up one finger. When Bella and Narcissa didn't budge, I balled my fists and socked the both of them in the jaw. Narcissa retaliated by taking a large bucket of water that she happened to be holding and dumping it over my head.

To say that I was angry would've been a _massive_ understatement.

 **Piss off, bitch,** I signed, without realizing it. My hands were my voice and I definitely had a lot to say. **I gave you three seconds and you failed to heed my warning, so take your bucket of water and fuck off.**

"We don't understand freak language, hon," Bellatrix told me sneeringly.

"Let me give you a hint," said the brunette girl, eyes narrowed. "She's cussing you out."

She then proceeded to kick them in the shins so hard that they fell over and slam the door in the their faces. I stifled a snort with my hand as Narcissa accidentally hit herself in the face with her own bucket. Served her right.

The girl shot them one last glare and turned to the rest of us. "Sorry about that!" she said with an apologetic smile.

Sirius winked at her. "'S okay," he answered. "Been wanting to do that myself actually."

See? Told you he's a flirt. I mean, come on. That wink wasn't _really_ necessary.

Apparently she thought so, too, because she rolled her eyes at him and promptly walked out of the compartment.

I took my wand out of my pocket and looked at Sirius teasingly. _**Rejected!**_ I wrote.

"Bug off, Mats."

 _ **Nope.**_

Sirius huffed. I grinned cheekily at him.

"Sorry about those girls," he told me after a few moments. "My cousins are gits."

 _ **You're related to THEM?**_ I asked, eyebrows raised.

He mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't lip read, but I got the gist; he didn't _like_ being related to them. And in all honesty, I couldn't blame him.

 _ **Sheesh. And I thought Gregor was annoying.**_

"Gregor?"

 _ **Adoptive older brother.**_

"You're adopted?" James questioned.

I nodded, before realizing that I was still soaking wet. _I'll be right back,_ I told them, grabbing my robes and a clean set of clothes. I'd been prepared to change into my school robes, but not everything else. Stupid gits.

As I left to go to the changing rooms, I saw that brunette heading in the same direction. I studied her closely as we walked and noticed that physically we were alike in every aspect. Our eyes, our hands-even the way we scowled. The only thing that could help you tell us apart was my short hair and the yin locket bouncing off her chest.

When I saw this locket, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach and glanced down at my own locket. It was yang and looked like the matching locket to hers. Something wasn't right here. How often was it that you found someone with a matching physical appearance _and_ locket? It just didn't add up.

Suddenly another person bumped into me and fell over, getting up and continuing their walk. If they had apologized, I wouldn't know. They probably did, but lip reading is the only way I could understand people in the world of hearing. Besides sign language of course.

The aisle was getting a bit too crowded for my liking, so I squeezed by everyone and gave them apologetic smiles if I knocked them over. When we moved to England-and especially the last few months before Hogwarts-Holly had emphasized the importance of surviving in public and being polite. But the thing is, I _wasn't_ polite. Over the years, I had developed a hard shell that almost no one could penetrate. People weren't scared of me like they were in those fiction books where the bad guy is a cold, emotionless robot of destruction-they just thought I was a rude nuisance-which I was.

Anyway, when I entered the changing rooms, I was met by a familiar face; it was that redhead-Lily, I think. She had a small smile on her face and it was directed towards the person next to me.

"Andy! I wondered when you would get your arse in here!"

"I had to deal with a few arse- _holes_ first," Andy replied, chuckling.

I let out a snort through my nose. I doubted they noticed, though. I wasn't that good at laughing. My doctor back in America had said that the neglect of my voice had made it a bit rusty. He had offered speech lessons, but Holly said it was too expensive. People I asked said I sounded like a bullfrog when I laughed, which wasn't very helpful since I didn't know what a bullfrog _sounded_ like.

People are idiots, I tell you.

I quickly realized that the conversation between these two girls wasn't meant for me and went to find a stall. As I changed into my robes, I thought about what house I'd get into. I hadn't heard much about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but Gryffindor and Slytherin seemed okay. I wasn't that into being brave and daring, but who knew? Slytherin seemed fine. I mean, ambition and cunning were awesome traits. Sirius _had_ said some people there were prats, but then again, ninety percent of my kindergarten class was full of people who wouldn't let me play with them at recess because of my deafness. I still enjoyed kindergarten.

There _was_ this one girl who let me join her game, but she left on the first day of school, which was weird. Of course, my whole life couldn't really be considered normal, could it?

Once I had finished changing into my robes, I stuffed my wet clothes into a plastic bag and headed out of the changing rooms. On my way back to my compartment, I saw a middle aged man with shoulder-length auburn hair sitting in a compartment with two other girls. He was clearly a teacher, but I didn't know why he was here; teachers weren't supposed to come to school on the train.

The man and I held eye contact for a few moments. His eyes bore into mine and I had the unpleasant feeling that he could see into my mind. Mostly because no one stares at you without a purpose. Unless they're a stalker.

And middle aged men stalking eleven year old girls is just plain freaky, so I tried not to think about that.

When I got back to my compartment, the boys were absorbed in their own things. Remus was reading his book, James was fiddling with a silvery cloth, Sirius seemed to find the window interesting for some unknown reason, and Peter was munching on a sandwich.

 _ **I'm back, children!**_ I told them.

"We're not your children, Mata," said Remus.

 _ **So?**_

Remus facepalmed himself. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You're an idiot, Mata."

 _ **And proud. What's that, Jamesie?**_ I asked, referring to the silvery cloth in James' hands.

"An invisibility cloak," he replied.

I sat down by the window. _**COOL!**_ I wrote. _ **Can I borrow it for like, thirty minutes?**_

"To do what?" he questioned, eyeing his cloak protectively.

 _ **To go on a thrilling mission of revenge**_ _,_ I answered, grinning mischievously.

James returned my grin, getting the gist of what I was going to do. "It's all yours," he said, handing the cloak to me. "Just give it back when you're done."

 _ **Of course**_ **,** I wrote, slipping out of the compartment and throwing the cloak over myself.

This was going to be lots of fun.

* * *

It wasn't very hard to find Bella and Narcissa's compartment. Turns out that theirs wasn't very far from mine. I just had to be extra careful while going in, because most people-unlike me-can actually _hear_ you if you just casually stomp into their compartment under the guise of an invisibility cloak (mind blown!).

When I got there, I saw the two hags sitting with another older boy. He had blonde hair, pale grey eyes, and an arrogant smirk that seemed to be engraved on his face. His chest was puffed out to show the prefect badge pinned onto his robes and he didn't seem like the pleasant type.

The three students seemed to be engaged in a game of Exploding Snap, so when I slid the compartment door open and walked in, they didn't notice me at first.

"Who opened the door?" Narcissa asked, frowning.

"I certainly didn't," said Bella, not moving her eyes from the cards she was stacking. "Must've been the wind."

"The wind opened the compartment door?" the boy commented, looking doubtful. "Bella, the window is closed. It couldn't have been the wind."

"Oh, shut up, Lucius," she snapped as the cards exploded and singed her eyebrow. I grinned. It was the perfect time to act.

During the summer, Holly advised me to create signs for all of the spells I had to learn this year because I couldn't say them. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. Thinking up signs wasn't even the hard part, but making them efficient was a whole other issue. One of the only signs I'd developed that had actually _worked_ was "Wingardium Leviosa." According to my textbook, if I did the "swish and flick" motion with my wand while saying (in my case, signing) the spell, I'd be able to make things levitate.

Pretty cool, right?

Anyway, I hoped it worked this time, because Bellatrix and Narcissa _definitely_ needed to learn the meaning of Karma.

I took my wand and signed "Alohomora" (another sign that I created. It unlocked things) while sharply waving my wand at Bella's trunk. The lock undid itself and the trunk lid flew open. The air tensed as Bella, Narcissa, and Lucius froze at the sight.

"What the bloody h*ll just happened?" said Lucius, his eyes widening.

"Something odd is definitely going on here," Bella added, looking slightly freaked out.

 _No dip, Sherlock._

I leered and pointed my wand at her hairbrush, getting ready to do the "swish and flick" motion. I held up the W-handshape with my left hand, copied the movement I was already doing with my wand (swish and flick. Duh), and brought it out to the L-handshape. Satisfaction rippled through me as the hairbrush lifted a few inches in the air, completely under the control of my wand.

Bella almost fell off her seat in fright, Narcissa shrank into the corner, and Lucius went so pale that his face was the same color as whipped cream. And it was all I could do to stuff my knuckles in my mouth to stifle the laughter that surely would've escaped my lips two seconds later.

And the best part? I wasn't even _done_ with them.

Needless to say, I went all out. I levitated books, clothes, accessories, reveling in the new control I had over my magic. As for Bella, Lucius, and dear Cissy, they flipped.

And when I say "flipped", I mean they went psycho.

Or at least they did when I started smacking Bella on the face with her own books.

MWAHAHAHAHA!

Was that a bit too much? I think not!

Anyway, my victims-er, prankees (yes, I made that word up)-ended up sprinting out of their compartment while waving their arms around like madmen and screaming Bloody Mary.

Well, _I_ didn't know whether or not they were screaming Bloody Mary, but it sure as heck seemed like they were. I mean, I doubt they were singing praises to the Lord above.

But of course, I still wasn't finished with them. You didn't just call someone a mudblood in front of me, dub sign language as "freak language," and drench me with water in one day without paying dearly. I had one last thing to do.

Get all of this amazingness on freaking camera.

Luckily I already had the stuff that happened in their compartment covered. Now it was time for the real fun.

I crouched down low and readied my camera, making sure that James' invisibility still covered me. A grin spread across my face as I started recording. Being obsessed with mechanics had its perks.

While I was following them, we passed that teacher's compartment. As soon as he saw the ruckus they were causing, he stood up and exited his compartment.

"What is going on here?"

"There's a-a-" Bellatrix began, falling flat on her face as her own underpants tripped her. She got up awkwardly, literally shaking in her shoes. "-A DEMON FOLLOWING ME!"

The two girls who sat with the professor shook with laughter, clutching their sides and crying from mirth. One slid off her seat, leaning on the other one for support.

Unfortunately, I was just as successful as they were at hiding my amusement. My mouth opened automatically and before I could even stop myself, the professor's eyes were trained on the exact spot where I stood hidden from sight. At first I thought I was going to get in trouble, but then he started laughing as well.

"Miss Dunphy, please take off that invisibility cloak."

I forced myself to recover from my laughing fit, stopped recording, and pulled off the cloak, grinning from ear to ear.

 _ **I was just practicing and they were in the way**_ _,_ I scribbled on the compartment door, folding the cloak and stuffing it in my pocket with my free hand.

Bella spun around, glowering at me. "You-you-" she spluttered.

I sent her a falsely apologetic smile. _**You might want to put your knickers back into your trunk, Bella**_ **,** I told her. _**I know pink hearts are fashionable and all, but I'd rather not see them on your underwear.**_

She looked ready to strangle me.

Lucius suddenly noticed the camera hanging around my neck. "You recorded it?!" he sneered, straightening his disheveled hair. I leered at him, holding it up tauntingly.

 _ **It's called revenge, hon**_ _,_ I said.

With one last smirk at their humiliation, I took off and raced down the aisle as all three of them chased me around the train. Not exactly the ideal way to spend my first train ride to Hogwarts.

But hey, at least Bella left her knickers behind for all to see.


	4. Chapter 3

**If you started reading TCE before I got my shit together and posted the Prologue, please go read that. It'll make everything much less confusing later on.**

* * *

*Andrea's PoV*

Here's a tip for all you non-bookworm people: NEVER take a book away from a bookworm when trying to get their attention.

Severus learned that lesson today.

"Oy!" he hissed, snatching _Kindred_ out of my hands. "I said your name _twenty times_ , Andy!"

I automatically snatched it back and whacked him over the head with it. "I doubt you said it _that_ many times!" I said smartly. He groaned and rubbed his head gingerly.

"Bookworm reflexes. Deal with it," I answered, putting my book to the side. "Anyway, what is it?"

"We're here," Lily told me. "Everyone's getting off the train."

"Oh," I said, looking out the window. The train had stopped and several students were already off the train and walking towards a line of carriages or standing off to the side with a "what do I do" look on their faces. "Thanks!"

Lily and Severus chuckled as I slid my book back into my trunk. "You can leave your trunk here," said Lily. "They'll take it up." I nodded, stood up, and stretched.

"Shit," I muttered. "Those seats are hard!"

"They really are," Sev agreed.

"I suppose we'll get used to them, though," Lil commented, standing up and opening the compartment door. "Now come on!"

Severus and I followed her out the compartment, and squeezed through the crowd of students trying to get off the train. On the way out, we bumped into that deaf girl. He glared at her, but she simply ignored him and turned to me.

 _ **Where are we going?**_ she scribbled on the nearest compartment door. _**I'm completely lost.**_

I shrugged. "I dunno."

 _ **Urgh,**_ she replied, looking irritated. _**Never mind.**_

I was about to apologize for not being able to help her, but she had already cleared the door she'd written on and walked off. I looked at Sev questioningly.

"Do _you_ know we're going?" I asked him.

"No," he answered with a frown. "Mum isn't very helpful when it comes to telling me logistics. She didn't even tell me how we're going to be sorted."

He didn't seem very fond of his mother. When he talked about her, there was a hint of loathing in his eyes. In fact, he didn't seem very fond of anyone except Lily and I-but perhaps I was being too quick to judge.

"Well, apparently it's a parent thing," Lily told him, seeing his frown. "A lot of people from magical families don't know how they're going to be sorted. This girl named Marlene McKinnon told me that-"

But we never got to find out what Marlene McKinnon told her, because as soon as we were off the train, a gruff voice shouted, "Firs' years! Firs' years, follow me! Cummon don't be shy!"

A colossal man loomed into view. And when I say colossal, I mean at _least_ seven feet tall. At first glance, the man seemed terrifying, but as soon as I caught his eye, I knew that he loved leading us to wherever we were going.

Miss I-Love-Mechanics-More-Than-People and her group of friends pushed to the front of the line to get a better look at him. Specky made an effort to trip Sev again, and Lily and I glared at him. When Bulky saw us, he grinned and looked at the deaf girl and I.

"Sisters, are ya?" he questioned.

"No!" I shouted immediately. The man chuckled and addressed the rest of the students.

"C'mon, yeh lot! We don' have all day!"

We followed him to a bunch of boats that I guessed would lead us to the actual school. The giant got a boat all for himself and told us that we were allowed four people per boat. Lily, Severus, and I got in a boat with the curly-haired boy I had seen earlier.

"I'm Sirius Black, by the way," he said, completely ignoring Sev, who didn't seem to mind. Lily glowered at him.

"Lily Evans," she replied stiffly.

"Andrea Connor," I said, not quite sure what to think of him. He seemed a bit egotistical, and he acted like his hair was his pride and joy.

Suddenly, the giant yelled, "Duck!" as we entered a small tunnel. I ended up bumping my head on the roof and Lily shrieked as a spider dropped down the back of her shirt. I chuckled.

"It's just a spider, Lil," I told her soothingly, reaching into her shirt, taking the eight-legged creature out, and holding it in my palm. "Hey, little guy!" I cooed. "Aren't you a cutie?"

"Spiders aren't cute, Andy," said Severus, sounding slightly amused.

"They are very cute," I said defensively. _Especially tarantulas,_ I added in my mind.

I heard a groan from the boat next to me. It was my newly acquired stunt double; she was glaring at me. _**Yes, Miss Perky**_ _,_ she wrote, clearly being sarcastic, _**tarantulas are downright adorable.**_

I stared at her. "How-what-?"

 _Maybe you should think quieter,_ she retorted.

"And what would you know about volume, Miss Sarcasm?" I asked, as we neared the end of the tunnel.

 _ **If it's loud, it hurts, and if it's quiet, then I won't hear it in the first place because I'm deaf,**_ she said, gesturing to her ear with an insolent look in her eye.

"Oh, haha. Very funny."

 _Are you being sarcastic?_ Miss Sarcasm asked, obviously knowing the answer to that question already.

"Oh, no, not at a-" I began icily. Severus cut me off.

"Will you two shut up?!" he snapped. "Look!"

I rolled my eyes, looked over to where he was pointing, and gasped in awe; ahead of us was the most magnificent castle I had ever seen. It was like one of those castles you see in films about the medieval times. Sweet! I had always wanted to visit a castle and now I was going to attend school in one.

"It's amazing..." Lil breathed.

"Amazing only describes the windows, Lil," I answered airily.

She thwacked me on the head. "Oh, shut up!" I rolled my eyes and shoved her lightly. As the boat rocked a bit, she smacked me again. "Don't push me over!" But, even she was laughing. Sev just rolled his eyes at our antics, and Sirius was laughing as well.

"Don't push us all over," Sev said dryly.

"Wouldn't dreamof it," I said sarcastically.

Sev groaned, though his lips were twitching, so I decided to ignore him. When I looked into the side of the boat, I saw that the water was rippling, as if something was swimming in it-which seemed like a reasonable explanation. I put my hand in the water to investigate and felt something slimy brush against it.

"Something slimy's in the lake," I told Sirius, who was still gawking at Hogwarts. He looked up.

"Huh?"

"Something slimy is in the lake," I repeated.

"Oh, that'll be the Giant Squid!" he said animatedly. "My cousin Andromeda told me about it! She said that one of her friends got pulled in by it once!"

I snorted. "That sounds fun as long as you know how to swim."

"It does," he agreed.

"I don't think the Giant Squid is the only thing in there, though," Lily added, shivering.

"Oh, don't be such a scaredy cat!" I whined, swatting her. "I'd love to swim in the lake!"

"I'm not a scaredy cat!"

"Yes, you are."

"Am not!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"We're getting out, you two," Sirius chuckled. Lily and I grinned sheepishly, climbed out of the boat, and followed everyone else to the entrance doors. Giant Dude knocked on them three times and the doors opened, revealing a witch wearing emerald green robes and a tall pointed hat. She reminded me of those really strict grandmothers who were just overall spoilsports.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Giant Dude said proudly. Huh. What an odd name.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I shall take them from here." Another odd name. I shook that thought, but it was replaced with another. 'I shall take them from here' sounded like something an executioner would say. The thought made me chuckle as we followed her inside. This place was getting stranger and stranger, and I loved it!

Professor McGonagall explained that there were four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Then she explained that during the year you earned house points, and the house with the most points at the end of the year won the House Cup, but if you broke the rules, your house would lose points. Sweet! I loved competitions!

We could hear the bustle of other students behind an oak door the Professor stood before. "However, before you may join your classmates, you must be sorted into your houses. While you're waiting, I suggest you. . .smarten yourselves up." With that, and one last glance at the flaws of my fellow first years and me, she disappeared through the door behind her. In the split moment before the door closed, I could see four jam-packed tables of students, and one elevated table for the teachers.

As soon as she was gone, a bundle of chatter erupted.

"How do you think we're going to be sorted?" someone from behind me asked nervously. I turned around to see a boy with dark brown hair and big, round eyes. He looked especially nervous.

"Frank Longbottom," he introduced himself hastily.

"Andrea Connor," I said automatically. "And I don't know how we're going to be sorted."

"Sammy said that we're going to have to fight off a troll," Specky piped suddenly, "but Sammy says a lot of things."

"Nonsense!" someone else scoffed. "We're eleven years-old! They wouldn't do that to us!"

 _ **Maybe we're going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat,**_ Miss Sarcasm wrote, looking completely serious. That was the thing about her: because she communicated by writing instead of actually speaking, it was hard to tell whether or not she was joking. Though-in this case-I knew she was joking.

"Rubbish!" the same person who had spoken earlier retorted. "Mother said that they don't teach muggle sleight of hand magic here!"

 _ **Adults don't always tell the truth,**_ she said, obviously trying to wind them up. _**Hogwarts COULD teach no-maj sleight of hand magic.**_

"Mother's always ri-!"

 _ **Oh, look**_ _,_ Miss Sarcasm said, her lip curled, _ **you're a know-it-all AND a Mommy's Boy.**_

"You little-"

 _ **And you know what's sad?**_ she continued. _**You didn't even notice that I used 'no-maj' instead of 'muggle.'**_

I had to give her that, but I rolled my eyes at the fact she expected everyone to catch every little thing she wrote. I knew I for one wouldn't have noticed the difference between "no-maj" and "muggle." After all, no-maj is the American equivalent to muggle, and I usually don't mind the use of synonyms.

Just before the boy could say another word, half of the Entrance Hall screamed. I don't mean a little yelp of fright, but an "oh my gosh, there's a murderer in my house" kind of scream. Turning around, I noticed what they'd all been screaming about but didn't understand the fear of the situation: Four different ghost had floated in through the wall! I wasn't afraid of them; in fact I waved at them. Halloween always was my favorite holiday, after all.

The apparitions hadn't noticed, though. An old ghost with curly hair and a ruff about his neck continued to talk with a lady-ghost: "You should watch your back,Friar, what with Peeves being unnervingly out of the way."

The other ghost snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. "Honestly, Sir Nicholas, you act as if this is all-" Friar seemed to notice the first year below him. "Oh! New students!" he exclaimed happily. "I hope to see you in Hufflepuff! I'm the Fat Friar, you know, and the Common Room is _right near the Kitchens!_ " Sir Nicholas swept his eyes over us.

Sir Nicholas cupped his hand around his mouth and spoke in a hushed whisper: "Gryffindor has a better view of the grounds." He and Friar began to have a friendly argument about the benefits of each house's common rooms. Personally, I preferred Gryffindor still.

At least I had a fighting chance of beating my insomnia if I didn't have the delicious smell of cheeseburgers, and food in general, wafting into my dorm.

A few moments of sorting method debates, Professor McGonagall returned. "Line up, single file, please," she boomed. I usually wasn't one to listen to authority, but this lady was scary, so I hopped in line. "Follow me."

Professor McGonagall lead us into this _huge_ room-so huge that it seemed as though the ceiling just opened up to the heavens. Candles floated above four long tables, students chatted along happily, a banner hung next to each table (each one depicting either a lion, badger, snake, or eagle), and teachers smiled down at us from the elevated table.

McGonagall placed a three-legged stool in the center of, what she called, the Great Hall. On top of it was a fraying grey hat. Some would say it looked hideous, but I thought it let off a glow of power. Like everything else I'd encountered today, it wasn't normal.

"This is the Sorting Hat," said McGonagall. "You'll put it on, and it will sort you into your houses. Once you are sorted, please go sit at the appropriate table."

A tear in the brim of the hat opened, forming a mouth. That was even less normal than today's events.

It started _singing!_ A HAT, singing! I didn't know why that of all things shocked me (this event was at least moderately explainable), but it did.

" _Many a year ago it seems,_

 _The duty fell to me,_

 _To sing my song and bring the news,_

 _Of where students ought to be._

 _Chosen by the founders four,_

 _To help young students find their way,_

 _When, confused, they stumble in,_

 _On their first Hogwarts day._

 _Four houses to choose from,_

 _Not one less or more,_

 _Each one by a different founder,_

 _To fill with students they adore._

 _Gryffindor, loving bravery,_

 _Chose the strong of heart,_

 _While Slytherin, feeling differently,_

 _Thought cunning the greatest art._

 _Ravenclaw claimed for her own house,_

 _The brainy and the smart,_

 _While Hufflepuff took to her dear house,_

 _The just and kind of heart._

 _All these students, with their differences,_

 _Are each key to this great school._

 _And if Hogwarts hopes to stand,_

 _Unity's the greatest tool._

 _House to house and hand to hand,_

 _Leaving differences behind._

 _Only when you work together,_

 _Can your strengths all be combined._

 _Now at last, the time has come,_

 _For me to send you separate ways._

 _But remember, our division,_

 _Could bring the end of Hogwarts' days."_

I applauded along with the rest of the school, letting the hat's words sink in. It seemed wise, for a bit of old, talking headwear.

Suddenly McGonagall started to call out names from a scroll. "Abbot, Benjamin!" A scrawny boy with red hair weaved himself through the crowd of first years and onto the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and the boy made strange faces every-so-often. Was the hat _talking_ to him? Why did that surprise me? I just heard and saw it sing for Pete's sake!

Suddenly the hat screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!" One of the tables burst into applause, and the boy ran down to join them, a huge grin on his face.

One by one, the first years got sorted, and the four tables started to fill up even more. And then McGonagall shouted, "Black, Sirius!" He sauntered up to the stool and sat down anxiously. I could see the Slytherins that drenched me staring at him with a mix of a smirk, and a sneer. As the fraying hat spoke to him, I could tell Sirius felt pretty good about what he was being told.

After a moment or so, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall suddenly broke into whispers as Sirius ran down to the Gryffindor table.

"A _Black_ in _Gryffindor_? That's not how that works!"

"He's gonna get disowned within the month!"

I saw that the Slytherins that were focused on Sirius looked murderous. I would have made a face at them and been a childish prat that was asking for trouble, but my name was called next.

"Connor, Andrea," McGonagall read from her scroll. Some would say their legs turned to jelly when they were called up, but I was almost running up to the stool in anticipation. McGonagall jammed the hat on my head, and the hat started to talk:

 _"Definitely not Ravenclaw."_ I couldn't help but agree. Ravenclaw was for the creative brainiacs who worked hard. I was a creative couch potato that liked wishing to work hard.

 _"Maybe Hufflepuff? Let me look deeper. No, definitely not Hufflepuff!"_ He made it to my sarcasm and inability to keep quiet, then. Yeah, Hufflepuff wouldn't be good for me. I was a bit too sassy, sarcastic, outspoken, and-well- _me_ , for Hufflepuff.

 _"Not cunning enough for Slytherin. No, you wouldn't do well in Slytherin."_

 _Okay,_ I thought. _If we're done eliminating, can we get to the part where you yell out 'Gryffindor' so I can go sit down? I want food!_ I whined in my head. The hat chuckled.

 _"DEFINITELY Gryffindor,"_ it said, and then yelled at the top of its-was it even possible for a hat _have_ lungs-well, it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!" I started grinning my head off, thanked the hat-no matter how strange that sounds-took it off, and bolted off to the cheering table. I wasn't lying; I was hungry.

Sev looked a little disappointed, but oh well. He'd just have to deal with it.

I glared at the empty table before me as other students were sorted. "Dunphy, Mata," AKA Miss Sarcasm, was sent to Ravenclaw, Lily joined me in Gryffindor, "Lupin, Remus" was sent to Gryffindor with a raise of the headmaster's glass, "Potter, James" got Gryffindor as did "McKinnon, Marlene" and "Pettigrew, Peter." "Hill, Jaden" and "Watson, Layla" joined Ravenclaw, several others were sent to Slytherin, and scarce few joined Hufflepuff.

The headmaster stood up, arms stretched wide. "I am your new headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Past pupils may know me from Transfiguration classes-which will be taken over by our very own Professor McGonagall. I have a few start of term announcements, but those can wait. For now, fard, collop, and furphy! And, yes, those are real words." The hall began in a nervous chuckle-most likely worrying about Dumbledore's mental state-and gradually rose to loud laughter.

I, for one, was more focused on the food in front of me. Where were the cheeseburgers?


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I think earlier this week, I posted a messed up version of this chapter from the app, but now that I have access to a laptop, here's the full one. Enjoy!**

*Mata's PoV*

I had never seen so much food in my life.

I think the hardest thing about eating in the Great Hall was choosing _what_ to eat. There was so much of it! Roast beef, sandwiches, mashed potatoes, green beans, you name it. Eventually I just settled for a plate full of spaghetti and a mountain of brownies (what? I like chocolate).

Actually, it's more of an addiction, but oh well.

I happened to be sitting in between two girls who were having a heated argument about apparition or something like that. Of course, I was too busy wolfing down my spaghetti to lipread efficiently, so I could be wrong.

That's the thing about lipreading: you have to actually pay attention, because people talk so dang fast, and if you interpret it wrong, I guarantee you that you'll look like a _massive_ idiot. Trust me, it's not fun.

Anyway, during the whole argument, both girls didn't really notice me-not that I minded or anything. It just amazed me that people can miss so much when they get really involved in something.

While the two argued, my eyes wandered around the hall-a result of my bad habit of spacing out. I saw James and Sirius talking animatedly to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, and shuddered as the ghost nearly pulled his head off his neck. Knowing my wonderful memory for details, it would take a long time to get that image out of my head. Ugh.

Trying to get my mind off Nearly Headless Nick, I decided to focus on the teachers' table. As it turned out, I wasn't the one who had a bad habit of staring at people. The same guy who I'd seen on the train was staring at me _yet again_ , and I was seriously considering chucking my spoon at him to make him stop. The bloody stalker!

Mr. Stalker seemed to notice the look on my face and chose to stare at Connor instead. Throughout this whole time, the Gryffindor remained blissfully oblivious, and even though she was enthusiastically devouring her plate of chicken wings, I felt a constant vibe of disappointment coming from her.

 _I can't BELIEVE they don't have cheeseburgers!_

As soon as I heard the thought, I opened my mouth and busted out laughing. Unfortunately, this caused the rest of the Ravenclaw table to stare at me with odd and somewhat judging looks. I stuck out my tongue at them in retaliation and resumed eating. It seemed as if I had laughed louder than considered "normal." Meh. Too bad for them. It wasn't like _I_ could control the volume of my laughter.

 _And it's not like I can control the volume of my thoughts, Dunphy._

I screwed my eyes shut as pain shot through my forehead and rubbed my temples. It was strange; even though I knew Connor was sitting at the Gryffindor table with her friends, it felt like she was sitting right next to me. Then I realized.

She was in my freaking _mind_.

 _And it's not like I fancy the idea of sharing my mind with someone else, Connor,_ I found myself thinking back. _Now do me a favor and get the heck out of my head. Please and thank you._

 _You act like I WANT to be inside your head,_ she retorted

 _Hey, I didn't ask you to pay a visit!_

 _Well, why can you hear my fucking thoughts anyway?!_ she cried.

 _I don't know!_ I told her. _Last time I checked, I couldn't HEAR anything._

 _Oh, haha, very funny._

 _Hilarious, aren't I? Also, your locket's glowing._

 _Well, so is yours!_

I looked down, frowning. She was right; my locket _was_ glowing. The only time it had done that before was when Holly, Gregor, and I went on a picnic in a park located near this residential area right after we moved from America to England. There was this family nearby who was looking at this three-story house until a tree fell on it. When the only girl turned around to look at me, I had thought I was seeing myself because we looked almost identical. I remember that Holly was quite eager to leave after that.

Oh, God...was that _her_?

 _Why the heck are our lockets glowing?_ I asked uncertainly.

 _You tell me, you oh-so-brilliant Ravenclaw!_

As we continued to argue, my headache worsened. I soon realized that I was gripping the table firmly and that it was rapidly turning to ash right underneath my fingers.

 _Good job, Dunphy,_ said Connor, her voice dripping with sarcasm. _Now you've burnt a hole in the table._

 _Oh, bug off._ I grumbled, reaching to unclasp my locket. _I'm taking this blasted necklace off before I burn something else. And not by accident._

I stuffed the locket in my pocket and gave a frustrated sigh. The boy next to me looked at me strangely.

"Erm-why are you disintegrating the table?" he asked, as a hand-shaped hole formed when I lifted my hands off the table.

I glared at him and picked up my wand. **_Do I look like I know?_** I wrote.

The two girls next to me suddenly stopped arguing and looked at me, both turning pink in embarrassment. I was about to tell them that there was no reason to be embarrassed and that I didn't really care, but before I could start writing, Dumbledore stood up and the food disappeared.

"Now before I send you to bed, I would like to give you a few start-of-term notices. First off, we do have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Please welcome Professor Adrian Cameron!"

Mr. Stalker stood up and the hall broke into applause. Dumbledore waited for everyone to quiet down before he spoke again.

"To all first years-the forest is strictly forbidden and the caretaker Mr. Filch would like me to remind all of you that use of magic in the corridors will not be tolerated."

I rolled my eyes. Now that he said that, people would be twice as likely to go into the forest and use magic in the corridors!

"Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact their house's team captain."

The girls sitting next to me got excited when they heard this. The taller, brown-haired one whispered something in her friend's ear, causing the other girl to roll her eyes with a smile.

"And, finally," the headmaster continued, "let us sing the school song!"

Oh, yay. Singing. What fun. (Note the obvious sarcasm.)

He flicked his wand and conjured a long, golden ribbon that transformed into words. At least I would be able to read the lyrics.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune. And off we go!"

" _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald_

 _Or young with scabby knees,_

 _Our heads could do with filling_

 _With some interesting stuff,_

 _For now they're bare and full of air,_

 _Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

 _So teach us things worth knowing,_

 _Bring back what we've forgot,_

 _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

 _And learn until our brains all rot._ "

I watched as everyone finished the song at different times. James and Sirius finished last, and their exaggerated lip movements gave me the impression that they were trying to sing the opera or something. When they finished, Dumbledore vanished the ribbon and clapped enthusiastically.

"Ah, music," he said. "A magic unlike any other. Now, off to bed you go!"

I turned to the brunette girl next to me and gave her a questioning look. _Where to now?_ I asked.

"Follow the Ravenclaw prefect-see that boy over there?" She pointed to a fifth year wearing a shiny badge with a big, capital 'P' on it. "That's him."

I nodded and thanked her, before joining the rest of the Ravenclaw first years. Turns out you had to answer a riddle to get into the common room.

"What happens if you can't answer the riddle?" someone asked.

"You have to wait for someone else to answer it," the prefect answered.

"Oh."

 _Note to self: Work on answering riddles. Amount of sleep each night depends on it._

The Ravenclaw common room was a round, circular room filled with armchairs, tables, and bookcases. A statue of a regal-looking woman stood next to a door that I guessed led to the dormitories. A bulletin board hung above the shortest bookcase and currently only had one thing on it.

"Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room," said the prefect. "The girls dormitories are next to that statue and the boys dormitories are over there." He pointed to an identical door across the room. "Feel free to check out any of the books in here as long as you return them to their original spot. Any announcements will be posted on the house bulletin board, and _please_ try to keep the noise level down. People often use this place to study.

"Other than that, just enjoy yourself. Ravenclaw is the house of creativity and independence. Everyone has different interests, and we accept that. So if you want to discover the twelve magical uses of troll bogies, we won't judge."

His eyes twinkled at the looks on our faces. I snickered.

"You're welcome to stay down here at any hour in the night. In fact, this place is rarely empty. But for tonight, I suggest you get some sleep. First day is always the hardest! Sleep well, you lot!"

He gave us one last smile and exited the common room. Chatter immediately broke out after he left, but I decided to follow his advice and get some sleep.

"You dropped your hairbrush."

My dorm mate stared down at me, her lips set in a small frown; she had been trying to tell me that for the past five minutes and I, of course, hadn't heard her (woopty-doo!). The fact that she practically towered over me didn't make matters any better.

 ** _Right,_** I wrote, my face heating up in embarrassment. **_Thanks._**

I took the brush from her, stuffed it in my trunk, and hurried to breakfast. Curse my deafness! Why couldn't I just be normal like the rest of them?!

 _You go to a Wizarding school, Mata,_ I reminded myself. _You'll never be 'normal.'_

At the end of breakfast, Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw, magicked our schedules into our hands. I assumed this was because he was too short to hand them to us himself. When I looked at my new schedule, I saw that I had Potions first.

Potions was held in the dungeons. Unfortunately for me, I was late because I went to the wrong dungeon and met the portrait of this high-strung warlock.

"Mind your own business and get the bloody h*ll out of here, Missy!" he told me.

 ** _Could you just tell me where the Potions dungeon is?_** I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

"Three dungeons down, you little nincompoop!"

 ** _know what? Bye._**

Yeah. That happened.

The actual class wasn't that bad. Potions is just like cooking, if you think about it. And I had helped Holly cook a load of times. I'd even trained Gregor's cat to paw my leg when the food was ready. This time I didn't have a cat to remind me, but we were in partners, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Transfiguration was another story. The truth was, I hadn't come up with a sign that could help me turn a match into a needle. So all I could do was sit there, try to do the spell nonverbally, and hope for the best, which-as you can imagine-isn't very productive.

The snickering boy next to me didn't help much either.

"Need help there, Dunphy?" he said, his lip curled into a sneer. I stopped what I was doing and glared at him. "You know, you might want to _say_ the spell out loud. Just a tip."

 ** _Okay,_** I scribbled across his desk. **_Why don't you try to do the spell without saying it if you're so clever?_**

"Oh, this isn't about my cleverness," the boy told me, eyes glinting with malice. "I just thought that since you were sorted into Ravenclaw, you would actually be smart."

The girl next to him looked up from what she was doing, and considered me for a moment. At first, I thought she was going to slap him upside the head, but then she opened her mouth.

"Theo, if she was actually smart, she wouldn't have come here in the first place because she would've remembered that you actually need to say your spells if you're going to survive the first day."

Wow. Rude much?

I scowled at her. _You know,_ I wrote, _it's funny that you're going on this tirade about my inability to speak. You have full control of your voice and I don't see any needles on your desk._

She clamped her mouth shut.

 ** _I thought so._**

After a very unsuccessful Transfiguration lesson, I headed to Charms, feeling ticked at myself. I had come to school completely unprepared, and now I was paying the price. Ugh.

Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder. I whipped around to see James grinning at me.

"Hey, Mats!" he said. "How's your day going so far?"

 ** _Fine_** **,** I replied, writing in my notebook because I was too lazy to get out my wand (and because it was practically impossible to _get_ it out with all the stuff I was carrying. Honestly, were the teachers _trying_ to give us back problems by making us carry all those textbooks around?!). _P_ ** _otions was fun._**

"Jamesie was too busy staring at the back of Evans' head to pay attention this morning," Sirius told me with a smirk. "Weren't you, mate?"

"Oh, shove off!"

 ** _James, it's fine to have a little crush on her,_** I said, grinning at the look on his face as his eyes scanned the notebook. ** _She is quite attractive if I say so myself._**

"Shut up, Mats."

 _Impossible,_ I wrote, winking at him.

Suddenly a tiny man walked out of the classroom and wordlessly gestured for us to come in. It was Professor Flitwick.

 ** _Today's your lucky day, James. The professor came to save the day,_** I added before pocketing the notebook and walking into the classroom.

He scowled and followed me inside. Him, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I took seats in the back of the classroom, right behind Evans, Connor, and another blonde girl I didn't recognize. I think her name was Marlene McKinnon.

Once everyone was seated, Flitwick stepped onto something (probably a stool or a pile of books) to get a better look at us. When he did roll call, I noticed that his eyes lingered on Connor and I for a few seconds. Why did teachers keep staring at us?! I mean, sure we were identical and I wouldn't be surprised if we were sisters or something, but couldn't they at least _try_ to not be so obvious?

After roll call, Flitwick announced that we would be conjuring fire today. I grinned when he said this; fire was one of the spells I could do with sign language. I raised my hand.

"Yes, Miss Dunphy?"

I picked up my wand and started to write. **_Is it okay íf I use the sign language version of the spell?_** **I asked.**

"Of course!" the professor replied, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Why don't you try it now?"

I nodded and pointed my wand at the candle in front of me while signing the spell with my other hand. A three foot high column of fire erupted from the candle and singed part of my eyebrow, making me give a startled jump. The whole class stared at me.

"I bet you couldn't even do that again if you tried," said the boy next to me with a scowl. I think his name was Noah Warrington.

I rolled my eyes. **_You're just jealous,_** I wrote.

"I bet you couldn't even do that on purpose if you tried."

 ** _Try me._**

"Okay," he replied challengingly. "Let's go."

Connor briefly looked up from the candle she was trying to light. "Bitch, please," she said, "she could kick your ass if she wanted to."

"Language, Miss Connor!" Flitwick called from behind his desk.

"Got a problem with me speaking English, Professor?" Connor asked smartly.

 _Dang_ , I thought, trying not to laugh at the look on Flitwick's face. I guess he had never been sassed by an eleven year-old. _Apply some ice to that burn._

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Connor," said the professor.

Connor made a sour face, huffed, and went back to lighting her candle. I looked at the boy who had challenged me.

 ** _You go first._**

He nodded, pointed his wand at the candle, and muttered the spell under his breath. A small spark appeared, but it went out almost a second later. I gave him a smug look.

 ** _You weren't doing the wand movement. It goes like this,_** I said, drawing a miniature flame in the air with my hand.

"You didn't do the wand movement!" he replied indignantly.

 ** _That's because I did the wand movement when I signed the spell. Also, it's my turn now._** I repeated what I had done before and grinned when I got the same results.

"You have no proof that that was on purpose!"

"Now you're just in denial, Warrington," James interjected, arms crossed. "That was on purpose and you know it."

Warrington opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

 ** _Would you be more convinced if I did it in front of your face?_**

Connor looked up again.

"D*mn, Dunphy. Respect."

After class, Remus suggested splitting up.

"I mean, we have Potions with the Slytherins," he pointed out, "and you're a Ravenclaw."

 ** _I DO have a free period,_** I replied. **_I could walk you there._**

"You just say that because you love us," Sirius teased.

 ** _Bug off._**

"Impossible."

"You don't have to walk us there, though," said Peter. "We're perfectly capable of getting there ourselves."

 ** _You lot seem awfully eager to get rid of me,_** I joked.

"And you seem awfully eager to spend time with us," Sirius countered, eyes twinkling, "I must say, I feel honored that you recognize my awesomeness."

 ** _I'm also recognizing your ego,_** I told him. **_And it's making me not want to walk you idiots to class._**

"Yeah, you three are idiots," Remus agreed.

 ** _That included you, Remus,_** I said, elbowing him as we began to make our way to the Potions dungeon.

"And plus, you wouldn't want to have a class with ol' Snivelly, would you?" James suddenly added. I snorted.

Suddenly everyone's attention turned on something behind us. I spun around to see what is was, and saw Snape, Evans, and Connor glaring at us. James was saying something II couldn't quite catch. But it must've been bad, because the next thing I knew, Connor had socked him in the jaw.

"Oy!" he exclaimed. "Why'd ya have to punch me?"

"Stop being a fucking bully!" she said angrily.

"I was just telling him how-"

Next thing I knew, he and Connor were in a tangle on the floor. She pushed him off and slammed him into the wall. James stepped forward to retaliate, but Sirius pulled him back while I held Connor back.

"Get the fuck off me!" she demanded.

 ** _Beating the crap out of him won't stop him from being a bully, so slim it,_** I told her.

"Oh, I think it will! And you're just saying that because he's your friend!"

 ** _I'm not-_**

I froze. A vine had wrapped itself around my wrist and when I tried to pull it of, more vines covered my arm. I turned around the source; the nearest window was shattered and vines were rapidly growing from the hole. And they were heading towards _me._

 _The heck?!_

Suddenly a vine whacked me square on the face. I scowled, turned back around to see Connor with a slight grin on her face, and gave her a pleasant smile in return.

 ** _Connor,_** I wrote, **_would you care to tell me why I seem to be a vine magnet?_**

"And why would you think I know that?" she asked.

 ** _Well, I know that things can get crazy in the Wizarding world,_** I said, taking hold of a vine that had been about to hit me. **_But the last time I checked, vines didn't come inside through a broken window without a cause._**

 ****"Well, check agai-the hell?!"

The vine I was holding was turning to ash right before my eyes-just like the table at the feast. Except this time, the cause was more apparent; a small flame was burning the remaining vine and it was quickly expanding.

Great. An unconfined fire in the castle. That's _exactly_ what everyone needs. Screw Flitwick and the fracking education system. Why do they teach you the fire spell in first year but not the water spell?! What kind of logic is that?!

Connor gaped at the sight. "Would you care to tell me what the h*ll is going on?!"

 ** _I actually don't kno-_**

 _Miss Dunphy!_

I whipped around to see Professor Cameron striding towards us. I wished he hadn't used telepathy to get my attention; it hurt like crap and I wasn't quite sure I _liked_ hearing things besides my own thoughts. The sensation felt so unnatural.

Cameron waved his hand, and the vines and fire disappeared. Despite the stern tone he had used, he only looked mildly annoyed.

"Detention, both of you," he told Connor and I. "Did you not hear the headmaster when he said no magic in the corridors?"

 ** _Well, technically I didn't,_** I answered. Cameron facepalmed himself. **_When's the detention?_**

"Friday after dinner."

 ** _Okay._** I turned to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. **_Come on, you lot. You're going to be late for class._**

"Great job, Mata," Remus said when we reached the Potions dungeon. "Detention on the first day."

 ** _Shut up, Bookboy. One detention isn't going to ruin my future,_** I wrote.

"I'd be less worried about your future and more worried about the fact that we're friends with a spoilsport," said James, looking at Remus teasingly.

I suddenly spotted a stray spider, scooped it up, and grinned slyly. **_Oh, I'll loosen him up, James,_** I said, dropping the spider down the back of Remus' robes. Remus gave a startled jump and started squirming around in an effort to shake the spider out.

"Get it out! Get it out!"

I doubled over laughing and had to lean on the wall for support.

 ** _I'm afraid you'll have to go to class with spider down your back. Not sorry, mate._**


	6. Chapter 5

*Andrea's PoV*

"Andy, that was brilliant!" Lily told me as we entered the Potions dungeon. "The vines and everything! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Thanks, Lil," I said with a smile.

"How did you even do it?" Severus asked.

"I dunno," I admitted. "I guess I got really pissed at her and it just...happened."

"I wish more vines had wrapped her up," he sighed, taking a seat at the front of the classroom."It would've been funny to see her looking like a vine mummy."

I snickered at the thought of Dunphy all wrapped up in green plants.

"Sev!" Lil exclaimed in a scolding tone, but even she was laughing as well.

"What? There's nothing wrong with looking like a vine mummy." His lips twitched. "Halloween's in two months."

"What's this about vine mummies?" the girl next to us asked curiously. "I heard this Ravenclaw third year say that these things called Nargles were found in an Egyptian, but that's the only thing I've heard about mummies in this place."

"What the hell is a Nargle?" I said, scrunching my eyebrows together in confusion.

"No idea."

"Good morning, class!" Suddenly a short man with a rather large belly and a walrus mustache entered the room. I guessed that this was our Potions teacher. "I'm Professor Slughorn. Raise your hand if you're not here," he added, eyes twinkling.

Potter raised his hand. "I'm not here, sir!" he shouted, causing several people to snicker.

Lily rolled her eyes from next to me. "Idiot," she muttered. I chuckled.

"An idiot that _loves_ you," I whispered back.

"Shut it."

"Impossible!"

"Ladies, please pay attention," Slughorn interjected, shooting us a patient but irritated look.

"Sorry, professor!" Lily piped.

"As I was saying," the professor continued, "today we will be brewing the Cure for Boils. It's an elementary potion. Shouldn't be too hard and you'll be working in partners for this one. The team with the best potion gets a homework pass."

The class exchanged eager looks.

"So, to business!" he boomed. "Partner up with the person next to next to you and get out your cauldrons! Instructions are on page five!" He waved his wand and over a dozen books zoomed out of a nearby cupboard and landed in front of us. They were covered in dust and looked like they hadn't been used in over a decade.

Lily immediately scooted closer to Sev, so I turned to the girl next to me, taking in her appearance. She was a few inches taller than me and had dark curly hair that almost covered her eyes.

"You and me, I guess?" I said.

"Sure," she answered. "D'you have your cauldron?"

I rummaged through my bag and groaned when I found no sign of my cauldron. "Sh*t," I mumbled. "Must be in my trunk."

"That's okay. We can use mine," she told me. "I'm Lyra, by the way."

"Andy."

A few minutes into the period, Slughorn started walking up and down the aisle, inspecting people's cauldrons. Lyra prepared the cauldron while I crushed the snake fangs. After I put the crushed the fangs, I reached for the quills to put them in. Lyra outstretched her arm to stop me, but it was too late.

"No, don't put the fangs in ye-"

BOOM.

Metal bits-small and large-flew everywhere as Lyra's cauldron was blown to pieces. I felt my hands burning, and I saw red boils sprout over my fingers. I looked at Lyra; she was having the same problem. "Fuck," we swore in unison.

"I-I'll buy you a new cauldron," I told her. I knew I wouldn't be good at potions; I failed first grade science. And you don't do _anything_ in first grade science!

Lyra, though, was having a bit of a laugh, her hands and face red and covered in boils. "Too bad Miller wasn't in the splash zone!"

I started laughing, too. "What's wrong with Miller?" I asked. Lyra pointed to a brunette a few tables over. I didn't recognize her, but I assumed it was Miller.

"Nothin'." She shrugged. "She's just a bitch." I had to try so hard not to laugh, seeing as the entire class was staring at us. "Can we help you?" Lyra asked, looking around.

Slughorn seemed a little disturbed by our boils. Not that I blamed him. I couldn't see me, but Lyra looked a bit grotesque. I probably looked worse; I'd been leaning over the cauldron. "M-Miss Connor, Miss Nott, _what happened?"_

I raised my hand sheepishly. "I read ahead."

Slughorn sighed. "Ten points from Gryffindor." I didn't argue. What was there to say? The other Gryffindors had something to say, though. I think I heard "you idiot!" shouted by five different people.

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" I yelled impatiently, rolling my eyes.

"Miss Connor!" exclaimed Slughorn.

"Professor Slughorn!" I mocked. Lyra and Sev were snickering into their hands, but Lil slapped my arm.

"Andy!"

"Why's everyone yelling at _me?"_ I said. " _I'm_ the one covered in boils!"

"Well, it _was_ your fault," the girl Lyra said was Miller interjected.

"Thanks for the reminder," I countered sarcastically, before looking at Slughorn. "Can we have the cure now?"

The professor sighed. "I suppose so."

Well, so much for getting that homework pass.

* * *

That evening, I wrote to Rob and Kambria, asking for money so I could buy Lyra a new cauldron. They really were lucky; if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have written at all.

"I don't see what you have against your adoptive parents," Lily admitted when I told her this on the way to the Gryffindor common room. "I wrote to my mum as soon as possible,"

"They're just so...suffocating and way overprotective," I said, adjusting the strap of my bag. "It's kinda sickening."

"I see what you mean," she replied. Then, looking at the Fat Lady, she said, "Blast Ended Skrewt."

The Fat Lady gave her a small smile and the portrait swung open. Lily and I immediately bolted in so we could get seats by the fire, but I tripped when going through the hole and landed flat on my face. Lily doubled over laughing.

"A little help here?" I grumbled.

"I'll-help you!" she gasped. "After I-finish laughing!"

"I fucking hate you, Lil."

"Love you too, girlie!" she replied cheekily once she had calmed down a bit.

"I'm touched," I said dryly. "Now can you please help me up? I wanna get good seats on the couch!"

Lily chuckled, helped me up, and ran to sit on the couch. I groaned when I saw that there was no room because Black, Dunphy, and Lupin were sitting in the other three spots. _Damn you, Black._

" _Move,_ Black!" I huffed, standing in front of the the curly-haired Gryffindor with my arms crossed.

"Nope!" he answered, grinning broadly. I shoved him roughly, hoping to make him fall off. But he just scooted over, causing Dunphy to fall off the couch instead. She scowled at him.

 _ **Hey!**_ she wrote with her wand, yanking his leg. Black yelped and fell onto the floor next to her. Dunphy took her chance and sat back down, scooting over so that there was space between her and Lily. _**Sit,**_ she told me.

"Thanks."

 _ **Sure.**_ She turned back to her friends and wrote, _**You know, this place needs a map. I got lost AT LEAST five times today.**_

"No kidding," I muttered.

"Well," said Potter, "you can blame your own founder for that. Rowena Ravenclaw _is_ the one who came up with the 'ever-changing floor plan.'"

Dunphy rolled her eyes at him. Lupin perked up at the mention of Rowena Ravenclaw.

"I have her chocolate frog card!" he said. "And the other founders except for Hufflepuff!"

"Why would you keep the Slytherin one?" Potter asked bluntly. I whacked him on the shoulder.

"What is it with you and Slytherin?!"

 _ **Yeah, mate,**_ Dunphy interjected, _**the guy could talk to snakes. That's pretty cool if you ask me.**_

"But Parseltongue-"

"-is widely considered a Dark Art and is looked down upon by many wizards," Lupin finished, looking slightly exasperated. "Shut up already, will ya?"

Black stared at him. "You quoted that from a book, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, Sirius. _Dark Arts In Its Many Different Forms_ to be exa-"

A small grin started to form on Black's face. "You absolute _nerd_ , Remus Lupin!"

"Oh, shut up, Sirius."

"Impossible!"

* * *

I didn't get much sleep that night. It was practically impossible to fall asleep even though I knew I was going to be as tired as fuck the next morning. Eventually I decided to take a walk around the grounds. Being outdoors always made me feel refreshed and I hoped that it'd give me some energy for Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow, which-according to Sev-was going to be fun because Professor Cameron was going to teach it and apparently Camerons were cool or something. If you asked me, I'd say he just seemed like a stalkerish spoilsport-but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, once I was outside, I decided to go to the forest because I heard galloping hooves and I wanted to find why. Plus, it was way too cold to swim in the lake. I had heard from Marlene McKinnon that there were werewolves in the forest, but it wasn't even the full moon, so I had no reason to be afraid.

As it turns out, I _did_ have a reason to be afraid. Why? Centaurs.

When people hear the word "centaur", they think of Chiron, the oldest centaur in Greek mythology who mentored many great heroes, was a badass, and blah blah blah.

Trust me. The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest weren't Greek and they definitely didn't want to teach me anything. They're a group of territorial magical creatures who don't appreciate adventurous students going into their forest.

I had been following the sound of the galloping for roughly half an hour when it suddenly stopped. The next thing I knew, an arrow whizzed past me, missing my face by centimeters, and lodged itself into the tree behind me.

"The hell?!" I screamed, much louder than intended. As if responding to my outburst, vines grew up the tree and wrapped themselves around the arrow.

Out came the centaurs, their bows at the ready and their eyes narrowed in suspicion. The one at the front seemed to be the oldest one; he had a palomino body and a long beard that was slowly graying.

"It's a student from Dumbledore's school," he said. "Relax."

Another centaur scowled. "Yes, but she is a Nature Meddler," he scoffed. "They are always too powerful for their own good."

"I agree with Ronan," the centaur next to him added. This one had slick black hair and was glaring at me as though I was some kind of mutant. "Look at her locket. I say we get rid of her."

I backed away slowly, wondering what my locket had to do with any of this and not wanting to know what the haughty centaur meant when he said "get rid of her."

"Look," I told them, trying to be diplomatic. "I just came out here for a midnight stroll, I have no idea what the hell a 'Nature Meddler' is, and if you want me leave, I will, so slim it."

"Is that so?" Ronan asked dryly, as the centaur formed a circle around me, eliminating any chance of escape; I had left my wand back in my dorm, and even if I _did_ have it, the only spell I knew that could possibly help me risked setting the forest on fire and/or getting shot by ten arrows the moment I attacked.

"No, actually," I said sarcastically. "I've been plotting to bring down you centaurs from the moment I was born. Fear me, bitches!"

I probably should have kept my mouth shut, because Ronan aimed his bow at my face

"Oh, brilliant," he sneered. "She's a disrespectful Nature Meddler, too."

"I told you!" I insisted. "I don't know what a Nature Meddler is! I love nature! Why would I fuck with it?"

Ronan opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a loud neigh. At the same time, an angry voice rang inside my head: _Leave the kid alone, centaurs!_

I whipped around to see a black unicorn charging towards the centaurs and dove out of the way. The centaurs scattered, clearly taken by surprised. The unicorn neighed again and trotted over to me.

 _Jump on!_ she told me.

"How can you talk?" I questioned, jumping in surprise when a series of grunts escaped my lips instead of actual words.

 _All animals talk. You just have to listen. Jump on!_

I had never ridden a horse before-let alone a unicorn-but swung my leg over her back and took hold of her mane anyway, not wanting to face the wrath of the centaurs.

 _Hold on with your legs,_ she said.

Before I could respond, she took off in a gallop. It was immensely difficult to stay on, even with my hands clutching her mane and my legs squeezing her sides; I supposed it would be easier with a saddle, but since I didn't have that, I contented myself with hugging her neck and willing myself to not fall off.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the outskirts of the forest. As soon as the unicorn stopped, I slid off her back.

"Thanks for saving my ass," I told her, "Are the centaurs always like that?"

 _Yeah,_ she answered. _They're not too fond of humans. What were you doing out there anyway? I thought students weren't supposed to go in the forest alone. Especially past curfew._

"Couldn't sleep," I said sheepishly. "Plus, rules are made to be broken."

 _That depends on the rule_ , she said, her tone suggesting that she would've rolled her eyes if she could. _Well, if you need me, just call for Maddie._

"Thanks. And if you need me, the name's Andy."

 _Like I'd ever need a human who believes rules are made to be broken,_ Maddie teased.

"Bug off."

 _Nope!_

* * *

"Gingrotts?"

Kambria had replied to my letter, saying that she had deposited the money in my "Gingrotts school account." Needless to say, my friends were getting a kick out of this minor spelling mistake.

"Er, Andy," Marlene McKinnon, who happened to be my roommate, giggled, "I think she spelled 'Gringotts' wrong."

"I know _that_ ," I said with a sigh and a facepalm. "And don't poke fun at my adoptive mother's spelling when you can't pronounce 'telephone' correctly."

"What? It's funny."

"Never said it wasn't."

After writing a quick thank you note, I got up and headed to the Owlery to mail it since I had a free period after lunch. On the way there, Bella and a boy with long blonde hair tripped me. I glared up them.

"Well, look what we have here, Lucius," Bella jeered. "The Gryffindor mudblood-lover."

Lucius shot me a nasty grin. "What's this she has?" he asked, snatching Kambria's letter and reading it aloud. "' _Dear Andy, I have deposited the money in your Gingrotts school account._ '"

Bella guffawed. "This one must be a mudblood. Only a filthy muggle would spell Gringotts like that."

"Well, you know what Druella says, Bellatrix," Lucius said sneeringly, shoving the letter back in my face. "Filth attracts to filth."

A wave of anger surged through me. I got up, fists clenched. "Then no wonder you two are friends," I growled.

"What...did you say?" he snarled.

"You heard me," I said smartly. "You're not deaf."

Lucius raised his hand and looked ready to slap me, but I grabbed his arm and smirked.

"Come on, slapping people isn't courteous."

"People who are friends with mudbloods and blood traitors deserve to be slapped."

Before I could stop myself (which I wouldn't have anyway), I swung my arm at him and slapped him across the face. Lucius staggered backwards, looking slightly shocked. I felt a rush of satisfaction when I saw that I had made a red mark on his cheek. Bella's hand had moved towards her wand pocket.

Regaining his composure after a few seconds, the Slytherin glowered at me. "I thought you said slapping people isn't courteous," he told me sneeringly, his hand gripping his wand.

Silently cursing myself for striking an older student when they clearly knew more magic than me and would have no problem hexing me into next month, I forced a leer onto my face. "You don't deserve my courtesy," I spat, before walking away with my head held high.

I ended up hiding in a small alcove located in a deserted corridor, figuring no one would find me there. In fact, it seemed like no had been in that corridor for years; there were no classrooms in sight; the place was covered in cobwebs and dust; and it gave off an eery feeling. Even though it was the afternoon and you could clearly see rays of sunshine coming through the windows, the place reminded me of a dark alleyway.

I sat there for a few moments, mulling over what had just happened. When Professor Flitwick told me I was a witch, he warned me that I might face persecution due to the fact that I was raised by muggles. He said that was what this whole war was about; Voldemort didn't like muggles for some reason and because he's a psychopath, he took it out on them by starting a war. The people who didn't give a damn about who your parents are were on the good side, and the prejudice pricks like Lucius and Bella were on Voldemort's side. It was kind of like Hitler and World War Two. Hitler was like, "I don't like Jews, so I'm gonna wipe them all out! Go me!"

That's fucked up logic right there. And this is coming from the girl who generally has no logic.

Anyway, the point is, I had seen this whole pureblood supremacy thing coming, but I didn't realize how bad it would be. I mean, what's so bad about being a muggle-born?! With the right amount of training, Lil could kick all of their asses if she wanted to!

While I was thinking about all these things, a ghost popped out of the wall, and I'm not ashamed to say that I flipped my shit.

"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed, nearly jumping out of my skin and shrinking against the wall behind me.

"Oh, sorry," said the ghost. He had shoulder length hair that was slicked back and eyes that had an empty look inside them-as if they hadn't seen another human being in years. "Did I startle you?"

"No fucking shit, Sherlock!" I snapped. "Scared me half to death!"

"Well, I thought you'd be able to sense that I was coming," he began hastily. "What with that locket and all-"

"What has my locket got to do with anything?"

"I mean, aren't you a-" The ghost suddenly stopped himself mid sentence and groaned.

"Aren't I a _what_?" I questioned, now curious. Maybe this ghost could tell me who my actual family was.

He didn't answer.

"Well?" I demanded. "Spit it out!"

"Nothing," he told me. "Forget I said anything.

"You know for a ghost that just scared the shit outta me, you don't seem eager to talk," I huffed, hands on my hips.

"Well, I don't usually talk to anyone at all!" he said indignantly, his eyes flashing. It wowed me how someone could go from being indecisive as fick to chewing my head off in two point five seconds. Then again, I supposed that was how I acted as well. "All _I_ had intended to do was ask you why you're in _my_ alcove and spend the rest of my day in peace!"

" _Your_ alcove?"

"Yes, well, I suppose it's mine," he replied, maintaining his haughty expression. "No one else has ever come in here before you."

"Don't you get lonely or bored?" I asked, imagining how boring all those times in my room would've been if I didn't have my books. I'd've gone crazy!

"Oh, no, I like it this way. I've never been a very social person. Anyway, what _are_ you doing here?"

"Well," I told him, "these two bitchy Slytherins called my best friend and I mudbloods, I slapped one of them, and then realized they knew more magic than me, so here I am now."

"Ah," he said. "Do these two Slytherins happen to go by the names Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black?"

"Yup! How'd you know?"

"Lucius has a bullying streak," the ghost explained. "Bullying first years, calling people mudbloods whenever he can. And young Bellatrix happily followed his footsteps. I don't know how he ended up being a prefect. I honestly think Dumbledore was drunk on firewhiskey when he made _that_ decision."

I snickered. "Agreed."

"So, er…" He shifted awkwardly. "...what's your name?"

"Andrea. But you can call me Andy. Yours?"

"Mason," he said. Then he added with a smile, "But you can call me Mace."

"Mace like the spray that people use when they're being attacked?" I joked. "Should I spray you in people's faces when they're being bitchy to me?"

"Oh, yes, I'd love for you to do that," Mason replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe you can make me into a brand."

"Just imagine it. Ghostly Mason, a mace that has haunted the bravest and fiercest since 1971," I deadpanned.

Mason snorted. "I dunno about that, but you know what I do know?"

"I don't. What is it?"

He shot me a sly grin. "Fabian and Gideon Prewett have an endless supply of dungbombs, and I'm sure they'll let you use some if anyone's be b*tchy to you."


	7. Chapter 6

*Mata's PoV*

"James, flying lessons aren't until _next week_ ," Remus huffed.

Somehow, James and Sirius had managed to convince Remus, Peter, and I to accompany them down to the Quidditch pitch to try out for a spot on the Gryffindor team. Remus immediately reminded them that first years weren't allowed to have brooms and therefore would have no chance getting on the team, Peter laughed nervously, and I managed to rope Sirius into a bet in which I got ten galleons if he failed. I mean, _I_ wasn't going to stop him from going if it meant I snagged some money in the end.

"Still trying to convince 'em not to do it?" Peter questioned, taking a seat in the stands. "Don't think it's gonna work, mate."

"Come on, Rem," said Sirius, "we got this."

"Yeah, I even beat Sammy once!" James boasted.

 _ **Isn't she the captain, though?**_ I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

I looked down towards the pitch and observed James' fifth year cousin Sammy. She had wild jet black hair that was similar to his, a solid figure, and a bit of mad glint in her eye. It reminded me of those coaches who made their team do one hundred pushups before even starting practice. I sincerely doubted James had ever beat this chick at her own sport. I turned back to him.

 _ **Yes it does, fibber.**_

"Do you doubt my flying skills, Mats?" he asked, looking falsely hurt.

 _ **Against the girl who looks like she could knock out someone just by tapping them with the Beater's Bat?**_ I wrote, gesturing to Sammy. _**I do.**_

Suddenly Sirius yelled, "OOOOH!" (Well, I _suppose_ he yelled it, because he was flapping his arms in front of his face like an idiot.)

I stared at him. _**What now?**_

"You said 'I do,'" he answered, wiggling his eyebrows.

 _Wow, Sirius….just, wow…._ I pretended to sneeze. The others gave me strange looks.

"Why did you just pretend to sneeze?" Sirius asked.

 _ **Sorry, I'm allergic to stupidity,**_ I answered, grinning cheekily. _**Also, get your mind out of the gutter.**_

"Never," he told me, grinning back. "And if you're allergic to stupidity, how do you survive with the four of us?"

 _ **I take medication just so I can be friends with you,**_ I joked. _**Be honored.**_

"Eh. Honor is for desperate people."

 _ **And you know what you can do?**_ I wrote. _**Go down there and fail so I can get my ten galleons.**_

"Wish us luck," said James, before leaving the stands with Sirius.

"They're idiots," said Remus with what I'm pretty sure was a groan.

 _ **Let them have their fun,**_ I told him. _**At least I get ten galleons at the end of this.**_

"Dunno how you managed to convince Sirius to take that bet," Peter admitted. "It was a good bet on your part anyway."

 _ **Thanks, Petie!**_ I replied. _**Come on, let's find a better seat. I can't lip-read anything from up here and I want to see the action!**_

"But I don't wanna get up again," Remus complained. "I'm tired!"

 _ **Then we'll help you! Up you get!**_ I stuffed my wand in my robe pocket and helped him to his feet.

"Mata!"

By the the time we found a better seat, Sammy had started organizing everyone into groups based on what position they were trying out for.

"Does everyone know what they're trying out for?" she asked.

"Beater for me!" said Sirius, sending us a wink.

"And I think I'd be the best Chaser there is!" James added, holding up an outdated school broom. "Especially with this Meteorite 260!"

I snorted.

"James, get the h*ll off the pitch!" his cousin answered. glowering at him.

"But we'd be the best!" he protested.

"Yeah, lions for the win!" Sirius piped.

Sammy looked ready to strangle someone. I burst out laughing and turned to Remus, who was shaking with laughter as well.

 _ **Shall we rescue them before they get pulverized?**_

He nodded, and together we dragged our two friends out of the pitch, dying of laughter. When we got inside, I smirked at Sirius after calming down a bit.

 _ **I believe you owe me ten galleons.**_

Sirius groaned.

"You have to admit that was a stupid bet, mate," Remus said matter-of-factly.

 _ **It was,**_ I agreed with a grin. _**Now come on, Siri. Pay up.**_

Sirius dug around in his pocket and handed me the money. "Ugh, fine," he replied, looking disgruntled. "Here you go."

 _ **Thank you.**_

* * *

That Friday, I headed down to Cameron's office. I didn't even have to knock before he opened the door. Not that knocking would help, since I wouldn't be able to hear his response.

"Good evening, Miss Dunphy," the professor said politely.

 _ **Hi, professor,**_ I replied, holding up my hand in greeting before looking around the room. The defense teacher's office was impeccably neat. The wall was lined with different shelves; one had trinkets, jewelry, and other small objects that looked insignificant but were probably enchanted, and the rest were filled with books. Everything on his desk was organized into piles. I noticed that a picture sat on it as well; a younger version of Cameron stood with an unfamiliar woman, who was holding a baby boy. The boy's red hair stuck out in all different directions as if he had been struck by lightning, but hadn't been fried in the process. I chuckled at the sight; the baby was _adorable_.

"You're early," Cameron noted. "Dinner hasn't quite ended yet."

 _ **Well, if I'm not early, I'll be late,**_ I reasoned, moving towards his bookshelves. _**Got anything interesting here?**_

"Well, you might be interested in this," he said, handing me a book that had at _least_ eight hundred pages. I grimaced; trying to just _hold_ this thing without dropping it was a task.

 _ **What is this, a magical book for Calculus?**_ I asked.

Cameron gave me an exasperated look. "Why don't you read the title first?"

I looked down and read the title; _The Cameron Files: The Order Behind the Chaos_. I looked back up at him. _**The Cameron Files: The Order Behind the Chaos. So basically eight hundred pages on your boring life.**_

"You're impossible."

 _ **Sir, if I wanted your autobiography, I would've asked,**_ I joked. _**I'm guessing you're the order and the chaos is the baby who looks like his hair was struck by lightning.**_

He studied me for a moment. "You really are too quick to judge, aren't you?"

I puckered out my bottom lip in a pout. _**It was joke, so you should be laughing. Come on, laugh now!**_

A finger suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Connor staring at me.

"You're an idiot, you know," she told me.

 _ **Could say the same to you, Connor.**_

She rolled her eyes and turned to Cameron.

"You're late," he noted.

"And I'm not even sorry."

The professor opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before an hour long lecture started. _**Anyway, what are we doing today?**_

"Cleaning out the cupboard-" Connor reached for her wand. "-without magic, Miss Connor."

She hastily took her hand out of her pocket, looking disappointed.

"And it'd better be spotless," he added. "Otherwise you're coming back tomorrow."

It was hard to tell whether or not he was joking, but I sure _hoped_ he was joking.

"You can't do that!" Connor protested, looking indignant. "You gave us _one_ detention!"

Cameron handed us a bucket of soapy water and two washing cloths. "I can," he said, eyes twinkling. "So I suggest you get busy."

I snorted.

The majority of our time was spent without conversation. Connor and I had divided up the work so it would take less time. If you had asked me to clean out any other cupboard, I would've said no problem, but not Cameron's cupboard. His cupboard was freaking _huge_ and contrary to the rest of his office, it was an absolute mess.

"Hey, Dunphy, can you get the spray bottle from the top shelf? I'm a bit too short to reach it," Connor asked. I nodded and stood on my tippy toes to get it. After I handed it to her, I took a step back and accidentally stood on something that felt like a marble. It rolled around underneath my feet, causing me to lose my footage, fall backwards, and landed on my butt.

"Well, at least you landed on your ass," Connor told me, looking thoroughly amused.

 _ **Bug off.**_

"Impossible."

A few moments later, Cameron came in, looking slightly concerned. "Everything okay in here?" he asked. "I heard a crash."

"Everything's fine," Connor said dismissively.

As soon as he left, I looked around to see what I had stepped on. Turns out it was a ring.

 _ **What's a ring lying around in his cupboard for?**_ I wondered.

"No idea," she answered, "but I sure as h*ll hope he didn't try to propose to someone with that piece of sh*t. It's as ugly as fuck."

She had a point; the ring _was_ pretty aesthetically displeasing. The jewel part was blood-red and silver claws curled around it at the corners.

 _ **Well, if he did, they threw the ring back at him**_ , I said, scooping the ring up with one hand. _**I say we chuck it. It's giving me the creeps.**_

As soon as I touched the ring, pain erupted in my skull. It was like someone was stabbing with me with a knife (and I _actually_ know what that feels like-kitchen accident; don't ask). I immediately dropped it and clutched my forehead. Connor frowned at me.

"What's wrong?" she questioned.

After taking a moment to regain my composure, I wrote, _**Not really sure, but it happened as soon as I touched that ring.**_

"Huh. Let me see it."

 _ **I don't think you should touch it,**_ I told her. _**I'll just chuck it.**_

"Okay…," said Connor, though her eyes were filled with curiosity. "You do that."

After an hour or so of cleaning, Cameron finally came back in and told us that we were done for the night.

"I hope this teaches you to control your magic," he said.

 _ **Oh, please,**_ I wrote. _**I set my own yard on fire. Turning a vine to ash is nothing.**_

"No one cares about how many things you burned, ego idiot," Connor told me.

I stuck my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Although," she added, "fire is pretty damn awesome."

I smirked.

"Oh, God, I probably just inflated her ego even more."

 _ **Oh, shut up,**_ I answered. _**I'm not as bad as James.**_

"No one is as bad as Potter," she answered, before turning to Cameron. "Can we go now?"

"You can," he said.

"Yay!" Connor grinned before bolting out the door. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing and went to follow her, but Cameron put his hand on my shoulder. I turned around and glared at him.

 _ **What? You said I could go.**_

"I want to show you something."

 _ **Sorry, but I have to work on an essay that YOU assigned,**_ I told him. **And I'd rather not stay up 'til eleven o'clock doing it.**

"You had two days to do that and it's barely a standard muggle piece of paper. Ten inches is nothing, procrastinator," Cameron retorted.

 _ **I wasn't procrastinating,**_ I said, shrugging off his hand. _**I was prioritizing things that are more worthy of my time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.**_

I turned around and was almost at the door, but Cameron stopped me again. Well-I supposed he did, because I felt a hand on my shoulder, but when I looked, there was nothing there.

 _Wait,_ he told me telepathically.

I rubbed my temples gingerly. _I hate when you do that,_ I complained.

 _If you do it, you can get the hand off,_ he replied.

 _I don't have time for this!_ I protested.

 _Well, too bad._

I scowled at him, moving my elbow sharply in an effort to get the invisible hand off me. The hand didn't come off, but Cameron winced.

"Well, you did it with your elbow," he said, this time out loud.

 _ **Where'd I get you?**_ I asked, glad that we weren't using telepathy. That stuff hurt!

"In the ribs," he answered, finally taking the hand off my shoulder.

I gave him a smug look. _**Good.**_

"It's ready, m'lord."

I stood in a dimly lit chamber. The man who had spoken had blonde hair and looked vaguely familiar. He held a small object in his hands, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. And who was he talking to anyway?

"Very good, Abraxas."

I jumped; the voice was in my head and I wasn't used to hearing things besides my own thoughts. I turned around to find the source of the sound and found myself face-to-face with the ugliest man I had ever seen. There was no trace of hair on his head and his nose was oddly flat. If it hadn't been for the slits I guessed were nostrils, I'd've thought he didn't have a nose at all.

No-nose didn't seem to notice me; he stared right through my head-presumably at the blonde haired man Abraxas. "Who's the lucky victim? Is it the traitor like we planned?"

I looked behind me to make sure I caught what Abraxas said; the man was grinning.

"You'll get a kick out of this-it's his daughter."

When No-nose spoke again, he sounded amused. "Which one?"

"The Ravenclaw."

A tingling sensation suddenly filled my ears, slowly increasing until it felt like my ears were on fire. I sank down to my knees and looked up to see No-nose's mouth form a shape I usually associated with laughing. Apparently this revelation was humorous.

Strangely enough, when he stopped laughing, the pain in my head stopped as well. His face broke into a hideous grin that sent shivers down my spine.

"Well, well, this will be fun."

My eyes snapped open. I felt extremely cold and wondered why my mattress seemed heavier than usual. And where was the chamber….?

 _Right. It was a dream,_ I thought, chiding myself for thinking it was real. I didn't know anyone named Abraxas.

I sat up slowly and glanced around, realizing that I wasn't in my bed-I was on the floor. The same roommate who had picked up my hairbrush for me studied me, looking slightly worried. For the first time, I took in her appearance. At first glance, she looked like a stereotypical black person, but as soon as we made eye contact, I found myself face-to-face with a pair of startlingly blue eyes that were rimmed with big purple glasses.

"You fell out of your bed," she told me. "Did you have a nightmare?"

I nodded, sat back on my bed, and grabbed my wand so I could talk to her.

"What about?"

 _ **It's complicated.**_

"Seemed like it," she said. "You were clutching your ears and shaking all over."

 _ **You'd think I'm mad.**_

"I'm a muggle-born. I thought magic was mad before I came here," she reasoned. "I'm sure your dream can't be much worse."

I sighed. _**Well, in the dream, I could hear one person speak in my head, but not the rest. It was like I was thinking, but it wasn't me. It was them.**_

My roommate frowned. "That's odd."

 _ **It is,**_ I agreed. **And then he started laughing and it really hurt.**

"Wait, did you hear him laughing?"

 _ **No. But he was grinning and it looked like he was laughing.**_ After a moment's thought, I added, _**The strange thing is, I've never heard anything in my dreams before and it never hurt. So why would it hurt now?**_

"I'm as clueless as you are," she replied, shrugging. "Maybe it's the magic in this place. Apparently this place is so magical that electronics won't work here." She stole a glance at the flashlight on my bedside table. "It amazes me that your torch hasn't blown up yet."

 _ **I haven't turned it on or anything,**_ I told her. _**I just fiddle with it. I love mechanics.**_

"You should invent a television that's run by magic instead of electricity," she suggested, grinning. "I'd buy it."

I grinned back at her as my mind was filled with all the possibilities. _**Well, I've always wanted to be a mechanic,**_ I admitted. _**But my mother said I should get a job in the wizarding world since women generally get paid less in the No maj world.**_

"No maj?"

I immediately realized my mistake. _**American word for Muggles. Sorry, I was raised in America.**_

"Then why'd you come to Hogwarts?"

 _ **We moved here a year ago,**_ I explained. _**I didn't want to, but Holly insisted.**_

"I've always wanted to go to the States," she said, looking wistful. "The accents are amazing."

 _ **I wish I knew.**_

She gave me an awkward smile. "Oh, right. Sorry."

 _ **It's fine.**_

Accents were mostly a foreign concept to me. Although, I did get a feel for them when I was lipreading. For example, Americans say their Os more like As. It was a bit annoying if you ask me. It'd make "dog" look more like "darg" and when you say O, it's supposed to make an "Oh" shape not an "Ah" shape! That's why it's an O!

That being said, some people here say "Th" like an F, so I guess it's just accents in general that are complicated as crap.

"Anyway," she said, "what's your name? I didn't quite catch it at the Sorting ceremony."

 _ **Mata,**_ I answered, _**but you can call me Mats.**_

"Mats?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. "Like rugs? Your nickname is another word for rugs?"

 _ **My friends say it like "Marts."**_

"Well, I don't know what a Mart is, so I'm just gonna say it's the synonym for rugs. Can I call you Rug?"

I rolled my eyes. _**Absolutely not.**_

"My name's Jayden, by the way," she said with a cheeky grin. "Nice to meet you too, Rug."

 _ **Bug off.**_

"I'm gonna go back to sleep, Rug."

 _ **Shut up!**_

"Good night, Rug."


	8. Chapter 7

**sorry for the long wait! Hope you like it!**

* * *

*Andrea's PoV*

A couple of days after my detention with Cameron, I found Fabian and Gideon Prewett sitting in the common room, diligently doing their homework.

Well, they weren't _really_ doing homework, but evidently that's what they were trying to make it look like they were doing.

"Sorry to interrupt to interrupt this productive work session," I said dryly.

"Don't apologize," said a girl with wild jet black hair. "It wasn't productive in the first place."

"I know."

"What she should be apologizing for," the taller of the twins replied, looking up from a long scroll of parchment he was working on, "is interrupting us while we were making Christmas wish lists."

"Christmas is like, three months away, idiots," the girl groaned in response.

"So?" The shorter one shrugged. "I had this year's Halloween costume planned last September."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course you did, Gideon," she sighed, snatching the scroll of parchment from the taller one-Fabian, I assumed. "Who's even gonna buy you all this rubbish?"

"You are, Sammy Claus!" Gideon said enthusiastically.

"Sammy Claus?" Sammy questioned, raising an eyebrow

"Well, in the states, they call Father Christmas 'Santa Claus,'" he explained. "So you're Sammy Claus!"

"I'm not a fat white man who breaks into people's houses, Gideon. And I'm not buying all that."

"You _did_ break into ourhouse during third year," Fabian retorted. "Through the window at one in the morning if I remember correctly."

"That was because none of the toilets were working in the manor, I needed to pee, and your door was locked."

"Well, you should've said that when you did it!" Gideon cried. "Molly was in a rage!"

"Oh, I remember," Sammy told him. "How could I forget your sister's temper?"

"It's impossible," Fabian agreed. "But she means well. That Arthur Weasley's lucky to have her. She's the perfect stay-at-home wife."

Sammy facepalmed herself. "Not two months ago you were saying that-" She cleared her throat and resumed speaking in a mocking tone. "-'the slimy git should lay off my sister.'"

"I'm sure he was merely looking out for her, Sammy Claus," said Gideon. "After all, we gotta watch our sister's back."

"Merlin's beard, stop calling me that!"

"You shouldn't talk to dead people-let alone their facial hair," I told her jokingly.

The three fifth years stopped their banter and looked at me.

"You know," Fabian began thoughtfully, "I never thought about it, but now that I do think about, the firstie's got a point."

"Kudos to you, Firstie!" Gideon said cheerfully, giving me a lopsided grin.

"I'd prefer if you call me Andy instead of Firstie," I answered firmly, hands on hips.

"This one's got sass," Sammy noted appreciatively. "I like it."

"So what can we do for you?" Fabian asked.

"You're pranksters, right?"

"Hell yeah, we are!" the twins chorused. "We, Gabian and Fideon Prewett, are the kings of pranking! The Emperors of Practical Jokes! The Masters of Truth or Dare! The Gurus of-"

"Okay, okay," Sammy interrupted, sounding impatient. "I think she gets it. You're good at everything that involves breaking rules. Don't give her the entire monologue."

"But we've been _practicing_ ," Gideon whined.

"And plus, technically it's not a monologue since there's two of us, Sam-Sam," Fabian told her.

"Well, you act like you're one being," she pointed out.

"True," he admitted. "Never been separated, never will."

"Even for bathroom breaks?" I joked. Sammy snickered.

"No. We don't go to the lou together, you dirty-minded child," Fabian scoffed.

"Just asking," I said cheekily. "And about being masters of Truth or Dare, you definitely have competition on that."

Gideon laughed. "So let me get this straight," he said. "You're challenging _us_ to being the best at Truth or Dare?"

"You got it straight," I replied with a smirk. "Gimme a dare, any dare."

"Hmmm. . .give me a moment to think."

"Make it good," I told him.

The fifth year nodded and after a few moments, he said,"I got it!"

"Yeah?" I asked, wondering what he had in store for me. "Whatcha got?"

Gideon's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Ever heard of the Whomping Willow?"

"The wacky looking tree a little ways from the giant's cabin?"

"Just the one," he answered. "Anyways, Fabian and I were walking by there and figured out that there's a passage underneath it."

I frowned. "A passage? Why would there be a passage under a tree?"

"Beats me. The point is, we couldn't see what was in it since the branches move and-"

"And you want to know what it is, so you're getting me to do the dirty work for you," I finished.

"Well, if you want to put it that way-"

"I gotta give it to you two," I said casually. "You're sneaky b*tches. Aiming to be con artists one day?"

"Hey," Gideon said defensively."You asked for a dare and I gave you one."

"I didn't say I wasn't gonna do it," I assured him. "I'm not one to get cold feet. But what exactly do I get in return?"

Fabian scratched his head. "Hmm…definitely bragging rights since a student who actually lives here year round told us it's impossible to get past that tree's branches."

"And maybe a few pranking supplies?" I asked hopefully. That _was_ what I had come for after all.

He hesitated. "Well-"

"Just give her some dungbombs and paint," Sammy interjected. "I'm sure she'll find a use for them."

"Oh, I definitely will."

"Fine," he sighed. "It's a deal?"

"It's a deal."

Turns out the Whomping Willow's branches did more than move. The things were like a girl on her fucking period; unpredictable and extremely b*tchy.

I mean, trees are supposed to be _calm_ , not Smaug on crack! This tree's life mission was to turn me into an Andy-shaped pancake. And I would've been just that if Dunphy hadn't pulled me out of the way.

 _Does this girl have a freaking death wish?!_ her voice echoed inside my head.

"No," I said, dusting myself off, "I don't have a death wish."

The Ravenclaw stared at me. _You heard that?_

"Yeah," I told her. "You were kind of loud. And I really don't have a death wish."

 _Well, you certainly act like it,_ she huffed. _What on earth made you think it was a good idea to go near that tree?_

"I did it for a dare, _mother_ ," I replied irritably. Honestly, the girl was so d*mn complicated. She's rude to my friends and then she acts like a mother hen. Like, make up your mind, idiot!

 _A dare? Seriously?!_

"I didn't peg you down as a spoilsport," I retorted.

 _I'm not,_ she answered coolly. _I just have common sense._

"Same thing basically."

 _Look. I'll help you do pranks and everything, but you DON'T go near strange, enchanted trees, okay?_

"So…you're a spoilsport."

 _I am NOT a spoilsport,_ Dunphy insisted. _Spoilsports have no sense of fun._ _I, unlike you, know where to draw the line._

I was about to respond, but was interrupted by a loud howl.

"What was that?!" I exclaimed, frantically looking around for the source of the sound.

Dunphy just looked confused. _What was what?_ she questioned.

I looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry. With your voice in my head, I keep forgetting you can't hear," I explained. "Something just howled."

The deaf girl gave me a short nod and looked toward the darkening sky, a puzzled look on her face. She seemed to be deep in thought. After a few moments, she turned back to me.

 _Connor, I really think we should go-_

I didn't hear the rest of her sentence due to a loud shattering noise that definitely sounded like breaking wood. This was followed by another howl. My interests were immediately piqued and I began to move towards the sound.

 _Hey, where are you going?_

"I heard another howl and wood shattering over there," I told her, pointing in the general direction.

 _So why are you moving TOWARDS the howling and the breaking wood? Doesn't seem that safe._

"I thought you said you weren't a spoilsport."

 _Oh, I'm sorry that I fancy keeping my head attached to my neck,_ Dunphy replied sharply. _In case you didn't know, the only thing that really howls is a wolf and the sound of breaking wood can't be a good sign eithe- MOVE!_

Before I could ask why I had to move, she shoved me to the side, making me hit the ground. I heard something growl from behind me and turned my head around to see a full fledged werewolf towering over me.

"Well, shit," I muttered, rolling to the side. The werewolf went for Dunphy and she dived to the ground and rolled a little too close to the Whomping Willow's branches, getting smacked square on the chest.

"You okay?" I yelled.

She gave me the thumbs up, but was a little slow while getting up. Deciding I had to do something to distract it from her, I grabbed a sharp rock and threw it at the werewolf.

"Oy, fleabag!" I shouted. "Over here!"

 _What the heck are you doing, Connor?!_ Dunphy questioned, now on her feet.

"Keeping your head attached to your neck!"

My plan worked; the beast roared in outrage and swiped at me. I tried to dodge it, but was a little too slow and screwed my eyes shut as a claw lodged itself into my skin and made its way down my arm. The pain was excruciating.

Suddenly the claw was gone-though the pain didn't stop. After a couple of seconds, I opened my eyes to see Dunphy clutching a handful of rocks. She was chucking them at the werewolf and weaving through the Whomping Willow's branches simultaneously.

"You're a real hypocrite, you know!" I shouted, wondering why she was practically flirting with death when she had lectured me about going near strange, enchanted trees not five minutes ago.

 _Sorry, didn't catch that! Can't lipread well when I'm moving! Hey, Moon Monster, come and get me!_

Moon Monster. Clever, Dunphy. Clever.

The werewolf barreled towards her, only to get knocked backwards by a rogue branch. She then pelted another rock at it, hitting it square on the nose. It snarled angrily, only more determined to get her.

Ah, I _see_ what she's doing.

 _You didn't quite get me yet!_ she said tauntingly, ducking to avoid getting smacked in the face by a twig.

I watched as it attempted to tackle her and got tangled up in the tree in the process. Suddenly Dunphy let go of the few rocks she had left and grabbed onto a particularly long branch. At first I thought she was going to get dragged into the tree as well, but somehow it swung as just the right angle so that she managed to kick the werewolf in the snout.

 _D*mn. Good timing,_ I thought appreciatively.

The creature howled in rage as it was thrown to the edge of the forbidden forest by the momentum of the kick. Dunphy had just as much luck as it did; her robes had caught onto the branch she was holding onto and she got pulled into the center of the tree. I winced as she started to shriek; didn't seem like a fun place to be.

The moment she got near the outside of the tree, I extended my arm out. "Grab my hand!" I told her.

She obeyed and I pulled with all my body weight, successfully getting her out of the tree's attacking range. Unfortunately, I fell down in the process and she landed on top of me, leaving us in a tangled heap on the ground.

 _Thanks for that,_ she said, disentangling herself from me.

"You'd've done it for me," I replied once she was in a position to lipread. "Anyway, what do we do now?"

She cast a glance at the werewolf, who was slowly but surely recovering from his fall. _Run to the castle as fast as you can and don't look back._

Once we were safely inside, Dunphy leaned against the wall and let out a small groan.

 _I'm checking the lunar calendar next time I go on a nighttime stroll in this place,_ she vowed.

"You're telling me," I agreed. "Gotta be careful here! I met hostile centaurs and a werewolf in one week!"

 _Centaurs?_ she asked, raising a brow. _You mean the half-horse, half-men thingies from Greek mythology that are supposed to be wise?_

"The very ones," I answered. "Except they're not Greek and they didn't seem to like me very much, so I don't think they're wise.

She rolled her eyes but looked like she was holding back a smile. _Someone's conceited._

"B*tch, please, my arrogance is like a dwarf planet compared to your ever-growing, sun-sized ego."

 _Well, anyone who denies my fabulousness sits on a throne of lies,_ she countered, doing a wimpy attempt of flipping her hair.

I snorted. "Honey, your hair is too short for hair flips, so don't even try."

 _Hey, don't diss me when I'm expressing my awesomeness!_

"The only way you express your 'awesomeness' is by being a hypocrite and going near the tree you scolded me for going near five minutes before," I said flatly.

 _Yes, but I saved both of our butts and kicked a werewolf in the face,_ she pointed out.

"Fine, I'll give you that," I said. "I'll admit. I didn't peg you down as a spoilsport, but I didn't peg you down as a gambler either. Running through wacky branches is one thing, but grabbing onto them is beyond my level of pushing luck. And that's saying something."

 _I'm a gambler with a plan,_ she replied. _Plus, life is like a game with cards involved. Fifty percent-if not more-reliant on luck._

"True, true."

"What happened to you two?"

I turned around to see Potter and Black staring at us, their eyes focused on Dunphy's cut and bruised face and the gash on my arm.

"I got werewolfed," I answered.

 _And I got a Whomping Willowed,_ Dunphy added.

"You should go to the hospital wing for that scratch, Connor," Black suggested, looking concerned. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, Black. Buzz off."

"But-"

"You're not my dad," I interjected. "Seriously, shove off."

"That's my first na-" he began. Thankfully, Dunphy cut him off before he could finish the pun.

 _Do me a favor and don't finish that sentence,_ she said. _And since you're so worried about your girlfriend, I'll take her to the kitchen, wash it off, and get some ice. Now shoo._

Then she grabbed my uninjured arm and dragged me away from them.

"First of all," I began, "he's not my boyfriend. Second of all, you know I'm only in it for the cheeseburgers, right?"

Dunphy let out a heavy sigh. _You and cheeseburgers. You should just get married to one and be done with it._

"But then I'd get thrown in prison for eating my partner! You don't endorse abusive relationships, do you?

 _Is it really abusive when the burger is made to be eaten? And going by that logic, you're abusive as crap._

"I do it out of love!"

 _Ugh, why do I put up with you?_

"Hey, I'm only here because your friend, Black is an overbearing ass," I retorted.

 _He does it out of LOVE!_ she said mockingly. _He'll be proposing any day now!_

"Oh, shut your mouth, Dunphy."

 _Technically I never opened it in the first place since I'm using telepathy,_ the Ravenclaw shot back.

"I don't _need_ your technicalities."

 _Well, I don't NEED you here either,_ she replied crisply, _but look at what a kind person I'm being._

"Oh, yeah, it's real shocker that the hat didn't sort you into Hufflepuff," I said dryly.

 _I'm telling you, the Badgers would love m- oh, we're here._

I looked around to see where she had stopped and my eyes landed on a model of a large bowl of fruit.

"Bloody typical," I muttered. "The kitchen's behind a bowl of fruit. Now how the hell do we get in there?"

 _What was that?_

"How the hell do we get in there?" I repeated, clearer this time.

 _Oh!_ Dunphy scratched her head for a moment. _I remember Sirius telling me that you have to tickle something, but I forgot what it was._

I studied the entrance for a few moments. "Try the pear," I suggested. "I'm betting it's where the doorknob would be and my bets are usually good."

She nodded and tickled the pear. Just as I predicted, the entrance opened, revealing a bustling kitchen filled with creatures that had big, pointy ears and tennis ball-like eyes.

 _Huh. You were right,_ Dunphy admitted, giving me an impressed look.

"Always the tone of surprise."

 _Hey, I wasn't THAT surpri-_

"It's okay," I told her. "I know it's your first time admitting that someone besides yourself has a valid opinion. Must be a new experience for you."

Dunphy stuck her tongue out at me and I rolled my eyes in response.

"You know," I continued, "I usually charge a hefty price for my services, but since I get a cheeseburger by the end of this, I'll go easy on you, Dunphy."

 _Access to the kitchens in exchange for your future spouse?_ she asked dryly. _You drive a hard bargain._

"You're an idiot."

 _Proudly._

"That's all you've got, isn't it? Pride."

 _You say that like it's always a bad thing._

"It ain't one of the Seven Deadly Sins for no reason, honey," I pointed out. "Now let's go inside! I want my cheeseburger!"

As soon as we stepped inside, one of the pointy eared creatures hurried up to us and bowed.

"Dunphy, what are those things?" I asked quietly.

 _House-elves,_ she explained. _Basically slaves for wizards and witches._

"Slaves?! That's not right!" I exclaimed, maybe a little louder than I should've, because all the other house-elves looked up from their work and stared at me.

 _It isn't,_ she agreed with a sad frown. _But the Wizarding World isn't perfect. Far from it actually. I know some people try to pay them. Thing is, they don't WANT to get paid._

"Why would they _not_ want to get paid?"

 _Well, when you're born into a system, you don't really question it and anything different from it seems almost ludicrous,_ Dunphy reasoned. _Doesn't mean it's right; it's just what you're used to._

"I suppose you're right," I grumbled, still not understanding how anyone could treat these adorable little creatures like slaves. They were cutie pies!

The house-elf who had rushed to greet us stood there patiently, clearly waiting for orders.

"Did Master Sirius send Misses?" she asked. "What can Zoey do for Misses?"

Dunphy smiled at her. _Yeah. Sirius showed us the way. Could we have a cloth, some soap, ice, and a plastic bag please?_

The house-elf looked extremely confused.

"Plastic?"

The smile immediately disappeared from Dunphy's face and she smacked her forehead. _Right. Wizards don't HAVE plastic. Just get a plastic bag, will you?_

Zooey nodded. "Is that all?"

 _Yes, I think s- WHAT, Connor?_

 _Cheeseburger,_ I silently begged with my eyes.

Dunphy huffed at me. _And a cheeseburger,_ she added exasperatedly. _One cheeseburger._

"Of course. Zoey will be right back."

 _You're hopeless,_ my Ravenclaw stunt double told me after Zoey was out of sight, her arms crossed. _Death Eaters wouldn't even have to use the Killing Curse to dispose of you. All they'd have to do is get rid of all the dang cheeseburgers in the world and next thing we know, you're in the Underworld partying with Hades._

"I wouldn't be partying unless there were somehow cheeseburgers there," I argued. "And don't put me in the Underworld. Hades is creepy!"

 _Afterlife or whatever. Point is, you're like Remus with chocolate. I swear he's going to get chocolate poisoning one day from eating too much chocolate._

"And then you'll cry 'cause he'd be dead," I teased.

 _That took a dark turn. And no, I'd laugh my arse off at the death of my friend,_ she said sarcastically.

"Aww, I know _exactly_ why you wouldn't want your little Lupin dead," I answered, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

 _Yeah, because he's my FRIEND. And get your mind out of the gutter._

"But my mind thrives in the gutter!" I said, pouting.

 _Clearly,_ Dunphy replied dryly. _And I do not LIKE Remus. That's just gross._

"Hey, I had to get you back for the proposal comment about Black and I, and Lupin was my only option," I said, taking on a serious tone. "I mean, Potter is infatuated with Lily and Pettigrew is already engaged to his sweets."

 _Fair enough._

* * *

The next day at lunch, I found the Prewett twins sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table with Sammy.

"So did you get past it and find out what's in there?" Gideon asked.

"Nope," I said truthfully. There was no point in lying.

"Haha! No dungbombs and paint for you!"

"I wasn't finished," I told him irritably. "I also fought a werewolf. With help, but that still has to count for something."

"A werewolf?!" Fabian gasped.

"Yep. A werewolf."

"Dude, give her the dungbombs and paint," Sammy cut in. "Might as well give her the bucket of mud we were saving and some hair dye."

"Thanks!"

"Anytime," she replied. "I'll drop it off in your dorm."

Lupin looked very uncomfortable when I walked by him.

"Did you say you fought a-a w-werewolf, Connor?" he asked timidly.

"Yeah! It was actually kinda exciting now that I that I think about it! I mean, I got this wicked battle scar!" I showed him my arm. "Though it was actually Dunphy who kicked it in the face."

"Oh. Erm...tha-that's c-cool…," he stammered, rubbing his nose gingerly, which had a nasty purple bruise on it.

"It really was!" I said enthusiastically. "Werewolves are so badass! I should get werewolfed more often!"

* * *

I later found out that Dunphy and I had the same idea when it came to who deserved a good solid prank. I had this figured out when I put red hair-dye in Bella's and Lucius' shampoo, and they came chasing after me angrily with red _and_ gold hair.

"Why you little-" Bella screeched, cornering me in the Transfiguration corridor.

Suddenly I heard a shriek of laughter from around the corner. Dunphy revealed herself and smirked at Bella.

 _ **Like your new hair color, Black?**_ she scribbled across the air with a small chuckle. _**The red compliments it very nicely. Didn't know you were into Gryffindor colors.**_

"You!" the older girl spat.

 _ **Me,**_ Dunphy replied smartly. _**Such a wonderful person, aren't I?**_

 _Many people would disagree with that, Dunphy_ , I thought. Surprisingly, she didn't call me out for 'thinking too loud.'

And with that, she sprinted down another corridor, out of sight. I took my chance and ran right after her, but I didn't see her anywhere. Bella, however, kept chasing me, and I ran so fast that I barged into Black because I wasn't looking where I was going. We both fell over and I looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, Black," I said quickly before getting up and taking off again.

"What are you running from?" he called after me.

"Angry Slytherins with red and gold hair!" I told him.

"You or Mats?"

"I think she put the gold in!" I yelled as I sprinted around the corner. Black busted out laughing.

"It's not funny!" I answered from around the corner, slightly annoyed. "They won't even chase her!"

 _Only because they can't see me_ , Dunphy told me telepathically. I grinned as I realized that I could sense where she was hiding. It was a small alcove in the wall.

 _Better hope I don't tell them where you are_ , I said, not bothering to hide the smugness in my voice.

 _You wouldn't_.

 _I might_ , I answered.

 _You're way too nice_ , she said confidently. Uh-huh. Sure. Hon, you don't even _know_ me.

 _To people who'd be the same to me_ , I retorted.

 _Fair enough_ , Dunphy replied. _Anyway, I've been waiting to kick Bella's arse. No one calls Peter fat-so and gets away with it._

Wow, Bella. Just, _wow_.

 _Bella is one of the few people I'd hurt just for the fun of it_ , I admitted. _The fact that she called Lily a Mudblood only makes it easier._

 _Agreed. So, what do you say, Connor? When the hag comes around the corner, we let her have it?  
_

I considered this for a moment. Bella was much worse than Dunphy, and like I said earlier, I didn't _mind_ being friends with Dunphy. The girl was just a rude prat ninety-nine point nine nine percent of the time. Whereas I would never _ever_ become friends with Bella. In fact, I would _gladly_ give up my books just so I didn't have to be friends with that b*tch. And you should know that I don't give up my books easily.

 _Well, I suppose you can handle not being a prideful idiot for five minutes_ , I decided, _so sure_.

 _You flatter me_ , she said as we both got our pranking materials ready. I grabbed my dungbombs and loaded them with red paint, while she...Well, who knew what Dunphy was going to do?

 _I wasn't trying to_ , I retorted.

 _Of course you weren't_ , Dunphy answered dryly. Suddenly Bella came sprinting around the corner. Wow, she _really_ didn't look good with red and gold hair.

"I know you're there, Dunphy!" she fumed. Then she turned to me, glowering. "And you!"

Dunphy jumped out of her hiding place and started pelting Bella with her own dungbombs. They appeared to be filled with blue paint. Sweetness!

 _ **Ding ding ding!**_ Dunphy wrote, shooting Bella a taunting smile. _**We have a winner!**_

"Correction," I quipped, chucking my paint-filled dungbombs at Bella as well. "We have a loser with a lucky guess."

 _ **Couldn't agree more, Connor.**_

She then resumed covering Bella in dung and blue paint. By the time we were nearly out of dungbombs, the snobbish, psycho hag was shrieking indignantly due to the fact that she was covered in red paint, blue paint, and dung.

 _ **I'm not even finished with you,**_ Dunphy told Bella with a sneer, her last dungbomb in hand. She suddenly grabbed a Stinksap balloon and threw it at Bella, making the disgusting liquid explode all over the Slytherin's hair. Man, that girl had good aim.

"D*mn, Dunphy," I said appreciatively. "Respect."

 _ **Why thank you,**_ she said proudly. Her mouth formed into a triumphant leer when she looked at Bella. "How do you like those beautiful curls now, Bellatrix?"

Dunphy then proceeded to throw her last dungbomb at Bella-which smacked the girl on the face-and tripped her. Bella fell flat on her face, cursing loudly as the Ravenclaw strode off smirking.

I grabbed the bucket of mud Sammy and the twins gave me (which thankfully had a lid) and dumped it over the fallen Slytherin's head.

"I suppose you're the filth now," I told her before making my way to Gryffindor tower.

"Why are you smirking like that?" Lil questioned as I entered the dorm we shared.

"Dunphy and I kicked Bella's *ss," I said cheerfully.

"Dunphy actually stopped being a prat long enough to do that?" she asked, sounding extremely surprised.

"Surprising, I know. But Bella is now laying in the middle of the charms corridor, blue and red, and covered in mud," I replied.

Lil stared at me in amazement.

"And Stinksap," I added after a moment's thought. "That was from Dunphy for calling Pettigrew fat-so."

"Well, he is a bit chubby."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't call people fat-so when they're chubby," I pointed out

"True. Either way, Bella's a hag," Lil decided.

I casually plopped on my bed. "She really is," I agreed. "Actually, no," I added. "That's an insult to hags everywhere. Bella's a b*tch."

My best friend snorted.

"Well, it's true," I told her. Then voicing something that had been on my mind for quite a bit now, I said, "One question, does yelling sorry while running count as an apology?"

"Why?"

"Because if it doesn't, I have to talk to Black." Don't judge, okay? If you had knocked over some stuck up teenager at age nine and then gotten pulverized the next day, you would be careful about how you apologize to people!

"Depends on the situation," Lil answered.

"I kinda ran him over," I admitted. "And then fell over."

"Oh, you're fine," she assured me. "People in this place get run over all the time."

"Good," I yawned. "Cause I just want to sleep."

"Lunch only just ended!" Lil said incredulously.

"I know."

"You're strange, Andy," she said, shaking her head with a smile.

"It's called insomnia, Lil," I replied sassily.

Yeah, I have insomnia. And it sucks.

"I know. But it's also your fault," she pointed out. "I woke up at four and you were still reading."

"I actually started reading at two because I couldn't sleep," I countered.

"Okay then."

"Wake me up before class starts," I said before crawling into bed. "Charms is my favorite."

Lil got out her book. That was the nice thing about having a bookworm for your best friend; they didn't bug you when you were trying to do something else, because they had a book to keep them occupied.

"Okay."


	9. Chapter 8

*Mata's PoV*

"Hey, mate, can I ask you something?" Sirius asked me the day after I had gotten Bella back for calling Peter "fat-so."

 _ **Go ahead.**_

"How were you speaking with your mind a few days ago?" he said.

 _ **I dunno,**_ I admitted. _**I just started doing it with Connor and decided not to stop.**_

"Well, either way your voice sounds nice," Sirius told me.

 _ **You don't have to flirt with every girl you see, you know,**_ I joked.

Not getting the joke, the Gryffindor looked indignant. "It was a compliment! I only said that because I thought it'd sound more croaky since you don't really use it!"

 _ **Only joking**_ , I assured him. _**And people say my laugh sounds like a bullfrog, but I don't know what a bullfrog sounds like, so I take it as a compliment.**_

"It's usually not a compliment when someone says that, Mats."

 _ **Oh, no!**_ I wrote, pretending to look hurt. _**Now my life is a lie!**_

Sirius' face broke into a lopsided grin and he said something, since he was laughing too much.

 _ **What was that?**_

"I didn't say anything bad."

 _ **No, for real, what did you say? Didn't catch it.**_

"I said 'If your life is a lie, then I should stop talking to you so I can keep up my honesty streak.'"

 _ **Figures,**_ I answered, giving him a playful glare. _**But if you stopped talking to me, you'd get sick.**_

He raised his eyebrows. "And why would I get sick?"

 _ **Because you wouldn't get a daily dose of my awesomeness,**_ I said. Sirius rolled his eyes. _**Though if you keep talking like that, I wouldn't have much of a problem with that.**_

"I hate you."

 _ **I hate you too.**_

"I hate you more."

 _ **I hate you four!**_

Suddenly Remus walked in with James and Peter, and sat down. "Are you guys seriously having a hate contest?" he asked.

"No, we're loving each other up, Rem," Sirius told him sarcastically. I started kissing the air to prove our point.

James' eyes lit up mischievously. "That sounded so dirty," he said, causing me to grab the nearest book and slap him with it.

 _ **Get your mind out of the gutter, Potter! Honestly. Does anyone here NOT have a foul mind?**_

"Remus does," said Peter. "His mind is squeaky clean. Just like his mouth."

Remus put his hand up to his mouth as if he was clearing his throat and said, "You're kidding, motherf*cker. I can have a foul mouth whenever the bloody h*ll I want."

Peter grinned in response. "I didn't f*ck your mother!"

Unfortunately I had chosen that exact moment to take a gulp of water and ended up spitting my drink all over Remus' robes from laughing.

"Mata!"

 _ **Sorry, Bookboy,**_ I said, laughing. _**I meant to get your face.**_

"Thanks a lot, mate."

 _ **My pleasure,**_ I wrote. _**Also, where were you the other day? I went outside to look for you.**_

Remus suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Erm-er...at home.

"At home?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, I had to go visit my mother," said Remus. "Went by the Floo Network."

I couldn't help but notice that he was blinking a lot and there was a long, jagged scar across his forehead. Like someone had scratched him.

 _ **Hey what's that scar on your forehead from?**_ I questioned

"Oh, the scar? That was from my, uh, rabbit."

Man, this boy was so bad at lying.

"A rabbit," Sirius mused, looking skeptical.

"Hey, I have a vicious rabbit!" Remus retorted.

 _ **Then you've got a furry little problem, mate,**_ I told him. _**Need me to tame it?**_

"I...I don't need you to tame anything." He was practically shaking now.

"Chill, mate," James interjected. "We'll leave it be for now. Also, Mats, that was my Transformation textbook you slapped me with and you were supposed to bring that up to my dorm."

 _ **Got distracted,**_ I said truthfully. _**And sorry that it's covered in cack now.**_

"Cack?"

 _ **Poop in French.**_

"First of all, why do you know that? And second of all, my book's not-" James suddenly realized what I was implying and scowled. "-oh. Hey!"

I grinned cheekily. _**You're very welcome.**_

* * *

That Thursday, the Gryffindors had their first flying lesson with the Slytherins and since I had a free period, I decided to watch.

 _Oh, great. Now the girl's come to watch me make a fool out of myself._

It was Connor's thoughts again. This was the fourth time I had heard her freaking thoughts and it was starting to become annoying-especially since I always got a headache from it. I was now positive that we were somehow twins. I mean, we were identical save the hair, our lockets were a matching pair, and we were mentally connected. Not to mention that I was adopted and wouldn't be surprised if she was, too.

 _It's funny how you always get so paranoid around me, Miss Perky,_ I replied, wondering why I always replied to her telepathically when it gave me a headache. Perhaps it was because even though it hurt, telepathy was simply easier than lipreading and then having to write out what I wanted to say. _Do I really scare you that much?_

 _Oh, yes, you're absolutely terrifying,_ Connor told me. _You know what else is funny? The fact that you reply to my thoughts, but always act like your head is about to split._

 _Well, it's kind of hard to communicate otherwise when you're on a broomstick that's ten feet off the ground._

 _Yeah, now shut up and let me fly._

Not having anything else to say, I decided to sit down on the nearest bench. Truthfully I had come not to see _her_ make a fool out of herself, but to Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James make fools out of themselves. I didn't get much entertainment, though; James _did_ have a knack for flying, Sirius wasn't too bad either, and Remus and Peter were careful to not bite off more than they could chew.

So after awhile, I got bored and went to explore the bushes. There was always something interesting in bushes; maybe I could find a magical creature or something. Anything was more exciting than watching my friends _actually_ succeed in life.

However, instead of finding a magical creature when I observed the bush, I found myself looking into a pair of malicious dark brown eyes.

 _Bella._

Surprised, I immediately hurried behind said bush and sure enough, my least favorite Slytherin third year was right there, crouching behind the bush like a beast stalking its prey. I whipped out my wand and began to write.

 _ **What exactly are you doing here, Black?**_

"Nothing that concerns you, Dunphy," she retorted, shoving me to the side. "Piss off."

 _ **He-**_

Before I could register what was happening, Bella had brandished her wand, aimed it at Connor, and shot a jet of flames out of her wand.

Not only did the whole bush go up in flames, the end of Connor's broom caught fire.

I had never run faster in my life.

It was a stupid idea, really-running to catch the girl who was currently on a flaming broom. Best case scenario, I end up using my body as a cushion, she's burnt, I have a broken back, and there's no one to make Bella wish she had never been born.

But what else could I do? Either way, one of us was going to end up in the hospital wing.

By the time I was in a position to hypothetically catch her, Connor was nearing the ground and the burning broom was coming at my face, so naturally I shielded myself.

Way to be brave and helpful, Mats.

So yeah, there I was, cowering, ready for the burning feeling to come any second.

But nothing happened.

Lowering my arms, I realized that Connor was suspended in the air by an invisible force and had been separated from her broom, which was spreading fire everywhere, but I figured Madame Hooch could handle that since she was a _qualified witch._

Connor looked down at me, eyes watering with pain. "Well, put me down!" she demanded.

What? I didn't remember even touching her. What the heck was she talking about?

"Don't just stare!" she insisted, looking irritated. "Put me down!"

I was about to get my wand so I could explain that I had no idea what she was talking about, but then everything made sense.

It was the invisible hand Cameron had talked about. In the midst of all the chaos, I had somehow managed to conjure it.

So now all I had to do was get her to the ground without dropping her or crushing her with my extra hand. Brilliant.

This was admittedly easier said than done. I could sort of tell where the hand was-since that was where her robes were all bunched up-but controlling something that was invisible and fairly far away proved to be a difficult task. I _did_ almost drop her a couple of times, but hey, at least she made it to the ground without turning into a Connor-shaped pancake.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she cursed, blowing on her burning hands when she finally got to the ground. Evans and another Slytherin girl who I recognized as Lyra Nott rushed to her side and helped her inside. Sure that she was in good hands, I ran back to the burning bush to get my wand, praying that it hadn't been caught in the fire as well.

As soon as I got there, I saw Bella laughing. The psycho was _laughing_.

"Sorry about your wand, Dunphy," she told me, holding up a burning stick that I assumed was my wand. "Better think before you prank me next time."

 _That little b*ch._

 _Oh, that's fine,_ I replied telepathically, shooting her a sickly sweet smile. _Now I have an excuse to kill you with my bare hands._

I snatched my now useless wand from her grasp and threw it in her face. Bella opened her mouth to presumably scream as she got burnt. I clenched my fist and lifted her up with the invisible hand I conjured earlier. The third year looked half confused, half terrified.

 _Actually, scratch that,_ I told her. _You have to buy me a new wand, but then I'll send you to St. Mungo's._

Suddenly my locket started glowing-as if it was in tune with my anger. Not only had she lost me my wand, she hurt someone else in response to a stupid prank. I was going to make this hag wish she had never been born.

I threw her into another set of bushes and grinned as the bushes almost covered her completely, leaving her stuck. Taking the opportunity, I conjured a small amount of fire and singed an inch of her hair off. Bet she preferred the Stinksap now.

Feeling someone tap my shoulder, I turned around to see Madame Hooch glaring down at me. Under any other circumstances, I would've been scared by the look she was giving me, but right now I was too angry to be scared.

"Miss Dunphy, take Black out of that bush immediately!"

I gave the flying instructor an innocent smile and took Bella out of the bush, before chucking her in the Black Lake. Catching a glimpse of her mouth, I saw Bella yell, "DUNPHY!"

Madame Hooch gave me a stern look."Miss Dunphy!"

 _What?_ I asked. _I thought she'd like to cool off a bit. You know. After getting her hair singed off for being an absolute bitch._

"I shall be speaking to Professor Flitwick about this!"

 _Have it your way,_ I answered, pretending to look defeated. _She's the one who set Connor's broom on fire and burnt my wand so that it's no longer usable._

"She burnt your-?"

 _Yes,_ I said, glaring. _She did. But go on. Give me months of detention and leave her unpunished. I dare you._

* * *

"How much detention did you get?" Remus asked me the next day.

 _Several weeks,_ I answered, _but Bella got it until Christmas. With Filch._

"She deserves it," Sirius said vehemently. "I honestly didn't think she could get any bitchier."

"Yeah, how the hell are you related to her?" James questioned.

"I honestly don't know, mate," he replied. "Maybe I was adopted or something."

 _Well, at least you're proof that the apple CAN fall far from the tree_ , I reasoned.

"No, I think I came from another tree and fell in with the rotten bunch."

I snorted.

"Well, it's true."

 _Never said it wasn't._

"So how's that telepathy thing holding up, mate?" Peter asked. "It's bloody brilliant if you ask me."

 _Yeah, well, I HAVE to use telepathy now that Sirius' bitchy cousin burned my wand,_ I complained.

"Wish I had telepathy," said James, looking wistful. "That way I could talk in class without being caught."

 _You could do that with sign language,_ I pointed out. _I'll have to teach you four._

"And you can come up with signs for our names so you don't have to spell it out," Sirius suggested with a grin.

 _Okay,_ I said, feeling excited. _Let's start with you. Sirius is the Dog Star, so how do you feel about Dog Star as yours?_

"Perfect."

"Can I be 'the best Quidditch player the world'?" James asked. I rolled my eyes.

 _No, you conceited prat, I'm not making a sign that long. I doubt there's even a sign for Quidditch._

"Well, then you can make one!"

I sighed. _I'll work on it,_ I told him, before turning to Remus, who currently had his nose stuck in a book. _On to you, Bookboy. I was thinking something along the lines of wolf.  
_

The sandy haired boy looked up and frowned at me. "No, no, no, I don't want that one."

 _Your name is literally Wolf John Wolf.  
_

"Or Moon Moon," Sirius added, chuckling.

Remus ignored him. "No."

 _Smart wolf?  
_

"No."

 _How about reading wolf?_ I suggested _  
_

"How about no?" Remus retorted, starting to look irritated.

 _Fine_ , I said, inwardly grinning. _I'll name you after your pet. You can be vicious rabbit.  
_

Peter, James, and Sirius all dissolved into laughter. Remus glowered at me.

"I'll take wolf, thanks."

I smirked. _It's too late now...vicious rabbit.  
_

"Mata!"

* * *

Over the span of the next week, Remus frequently complained about his BSL name.

"Just take away the L in BSL and that'll describe it," he grumbled one afternoon. I had decided to sit at the Gryffindor table for lunch that day, but I was quickly regretting it due to all his complaining.

 _Well, I didn't take it out of a bull's bum, so I don't know what you're on about,_ I said. Not having a new wand yet, I was forced to stick with telepathy.

James spit out his pumpkin juice.

"Ah, now I have a mental image," Sirius complained.

 _Ever considered removing your mind from the gutter?_ I asked.

"Not really, but not I wanna puke." He looked at his chicken wings and took another bite. "Aww, baby, I couldn't let you down."

"And now he's in love with his chicken wings," said Remus, smacking his forehead. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

 _Nah, you just fit in with the bunch, Bookboy,_ I answered. _And no, he's in love with Connor._

Sirius said something through a mouthful of food, but I couldn't tell what, so I paid no attention.

"Speaking of Connor, has anyone seen her?" Peter questioned. I instantly scanned the Gryffindor table with my eyes, but there was no sign of my lookalike.

"She might be taking a nap," said James. "Heard she has insomnia."

"That sucks," Sirius commented. "Hey, Mats, if you two are really related, there must be some f*cked up genetics in your family. You know, deaf and insomniac."

I whacked him on the shoulder. _Rude!_

"Just being honest." He shrugged. "And it's not like you have manners."

 _I know, but you weren't being accurate,_ I told him. _I wasn't deaf at birth. I was cursed._

The others stared at me.

"You were cursed?" Sirius asked.

 _Yeah. I don't remember it, though. Holly told me about it, but she wouldn't say who did it._

"Wow. That got depressing really fast," Remus mused.

Suddenly the mail came. I watched as owls swarmed the hall, delivering packages and letters to their owners. I didn't see Holly's owl, but I had gotten a letter from her the day before, so I wasn't surprised. Peter's eyes widened as he unrolled his copy of the Daily Prophet.

"That's not the only thing that's depressing," he said. "I think I know why Connor's not here."

I leaned across the table and grimaced when I saw the headline.

 **MUGGLES ROBERT AND KAMBRIA CONNOR FOUND DEAD**

Oh, joy.


	10. Chapter 9

*Andrea's PoV*

I was devastated. I had just lost everything-my home, my family, everything. Sure, there was this unknown aunt that I could live with, but I didn't know her. And even though I didn't mind stepping out of my comfort zone, I didn't want to do it now. Not like this.

I had always despised Rob and Kambria. Thought they were too overbearing, too overprotective, and even idiotic. I went out of my way to be rude to them. But now that they were gone, I felt like I needed them more than ever.

After Dumbledore told me the bad news, I hid in the bathroom so no one could see me cry. I hated crying. It made me feel weak. And vulnerable. And how the bloody fucking hell was salt water pouring out of your eyes supposed to help anyone?!

 _Hey, Connor._

It was Dunphy. I glared at her-an obvious synonym for _going away_.

When she didn't get the hint, I added, "I'm not in the mood, Dunphy."

 _I know you're not,_ she answered, her voice surprisingly gentle. This was short-lived, though, because her gentleness vanished a moment later when she said, _Hey! You could come live with me. I'm sure you'd fit right in. You know, because we're twins._

I wiped my eyes on my sleeve, stood up, and walked over to the sink. "I'm guessing this is what happens when you try to be optimistic," I said coldly.

 _I was only trying to-_ Dunphy began, but I cut her off.

"Oh, stuff it," I told her, planning to tune her out if she continued to speak. I spent the next few minutes washing my hands and face and was about to leave when I suddenly heard the sink next to me shatter.

I jerked my head around to see what had happened and saw Dunphy on her knees surrounded by blood. It seemed that she had been cut by the shards of glass scattered everywhere. I was about to help the girl up, but she got by herself, apparently not bothered by the cuts on her legs, and leered at me.

"Er...Dunphy?" I asked uncertainly, wondering why she would give me a sadistic look like that when she had been attempting to comfort me not five minutes ago. H*ll, that expression didn't even look right on her face.

The deaf girl didn't respond and signed something I couldn't interpret. The next thing I knew, a fiery serpent was in my face.

 _What the fuck?!_

I ducked to avoid her attack, lunged at her, and roughly shoved her to the ground, hoping to give myself time to hide and figure out a plan. I had never seen her like this. Sure, she was annoying, but she didn't seem like the type to attack people randomly.

"This girl's bloody bipolar," I muttered as I hid in the nearest stall, slammed the toilet seat down, and sat down, tucking my feet up. I heard Dunphy groan as she got to her feet, which was weird because I didn't think I shoved her that hard and from what I knew, the girl wasn't fazed by much.

I sucked in a breath as footsteps echoed through the bathroom. Through the crack in the stall door, I could see her coming closer, examining each stall with a careful and calculated look. I gasped as my wand flew out of my pocket, under the door, and into Dunphy's hand. An uncharacteristically cruel grin formed on her lips. I screamed as she blasted the door open.

 _ **There you are, blood traitor,**_ she wrote, her letters fiery and red instead of their usual blue. _**Thank you for the wand. I really needed that.**_

I shrank back, wondering what the hell had possessed her to do all of this.

"How did you manage to try to f*cking comfort me and then completely lose it in the span of five bloody minutes?! Huh?!" I shrieked,

The Ravenclaw shook her head at me and let out a cold laugh before setting the stall walls on flames quickly spread. I tried to get away from them, but just ended up backing into the fire and burned my back and arms in the process. My heart skipped a beat when I realized my robes were on fire.

Why the _fuck_ didn't they teach us the water spell?! Stupid teachers!

Through all the pain, I saw her move her wand in a zigzag motion and then saw a green light beginning to emerge from the tip of the weapon. I didn't know what spell she was using, but I knew it couldn't be good.

"What the hell, Mats?!"

Suddenly she was tackled to the floor by someone or something. I immediately recognized them by the mane of curly hair.

It was Black.

"Connor, are you okay-?!" His eyes widened when he saw my flaming robes. "Well, shit."

"Just peachy," I said sarcastically. The boy jumped into action, ripping off my robes, throwing them to the side, and offering me an arm for support.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Black questioned.

"Why don't you ask your wonderful best friend?!" I growled angrily.

"Mats wouldn't-" he began, looking around for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Well, she did!" I retorted. "And she called me a blood traitor! You should reevaluate your friend choices, Black!'

He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated and paused for a few moments. "Well-well, let's just get you to the hospital wing."

Even though he annoyed me greatly, I grudgingly accepted the offer, because how else was I going to get help?

The walk to the hospital wing was extremely awkward. Mostly to due to the fact that we weren't friends and there wasn't much to say. Eventually, though, Black got tired of the silence and decided to voice his opinion.

"If there's one thing I know," he told me, "Mats wouldn't call you a blood traitor. Dunno why she did that."

"Don't apologize for your friend!" I said hotly. "If she wants to apologize, she can do it herself! Not that I'm gonna accept it easily," I added in a low whisper.

"I'm not _apologizing_ for her!" Black replied, starting to sound slightly angry himself. "I'm just stating the facts! I mean, cmon, she went off at Bellatrix for calling Evans the m-word. Why would she call you a blood traitor?!"

"Because…I dunno...because she's crazy!"

"So are you," he pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't attack people randomly!" I argued.

"I think you'll find that she'd say the exact same thing," he insisted. "Mats may act like a right foul git sometimes-"

" _Sometimes_?"

My fellow Gryffindor rolled his eyes. "Anyway, she's not all bad."

I looked at him sideways.

"You do realize that I don't give a _rat's ass_ about your opinion, don't you? There's not a lot of shit I'll admit to knowing, but I do know that that b*tch set me on fire. If you wanna defend her, then fine," I told him, voice eerily calm. The two of us stopped at the double mahogany doors of the hospital wing. "But, if you do," I smirked, fisting the door handle, "watch what you eat for breakfast tomorrow." Reveling in the confusion on his face, I flung the door open and stepped into the Hospital Wing.

I had a feeling that the tiled floor, white washed ceiling, the itch of uncomfortable blankets on top of uncomfortable beds, and the cold pain of burn medicine would become very familiar to me throughout my first-or perhaps all-Hogwarts' year.

Madame Pomfrey was shocked when she saw the extent of my injuries.

"Who did this to you?" she asked.

"Dunphy," I grumbled. The nurse furrowed her eyebrows, seeming puzzled.

"All right. I'll let Professor McGonagall and Flitwick know."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _What?!_

The Ravenclaw stared at me as though she hadn't comprehended what I had just said. McGonagall had gathered both of us in her office to sort things out.

"What do you mean, what?" I demanded. "You know what you did!"

 _I didn't attack you,_ Dunphy said stubbornly. _I don't remember at least._

Now it was my turn to stare. "You don't _remember_?!"

 _Nope. All I remember is the sink exploding,_ she told me. _Everything is blank after that. Next thing I knew, I was lying in an empty classroom and I had cuts everywhere. Then an older student helped me to the hospital wing._

I clenched my fists; I didn't understand how she could just lie to my face. I had seen the whole thing and I was pretty d*mn sure it wasn't a hallucination. My burns were proof of that.

"Bitch, stop lying," I growled, pulling up my sleeves. "I saw the whole thing. You see these burns? You did this!"

 _I-_

"And you have my wand!" I went on. "You took that too!"

 _No, I didn't! I don't remember that!_

I lunged at her, determined to get my wand. McGonagall put a hand on my shoulders, halting me.

"Miss Connor!" she cried. "Control yourself!"

"She took my wand!" I insisted, pulling the girl forward by the robes and digging around in her pockets. I eventually found my wand and pulled it out, my expression smug. Dunphy's eyes were as wide as saucers.

 _I swear I didn't know that was in- -_ the Ravenclaw began.

"Right," I said skeptically. "Sure."

 _I mean it!_

"Liar, liar, you set me on fire and you took my wand!" I sang. Dunphy rolled her eyes at me and turned to McGonagall.

 _Can't you use Truth Serum or something?_ she asked. _I'm really telling the truth._

"There are heavy laws surrounding Veritaserum, and right now the evidence is showing that Miss Connor is telling the truth," the Transfiguration teacher replied. "I'm going to have to inform your mother about this."

Dunphy groaned. _Oh, god, please don't tell Holly._

I leered. "Scared of being punished?"

 _It's not even the attack thing,_ she told me. _There's enough proof for that. It's being accused of lying when I didn't. I DID black out and I don't remember the incident. I don't attack people randomly, trust me._

"You're either a really good actor or completely mental, Dunphy," I said flatly, wondering how long it had taken her to come up with this stupid story. "People don't just black out randomly and then attack someone without knowing it."

 _Then mind explaining how it happened?_ she asked, mocking me with her facial expression.

"I just gave you two answers," I answered, my tone similar to a kindergarten teacher exaggerating every word in order to make things more interesting for the five-year-old. "It didn't happen at all and this is all some fucked up act-"

 _It wasn't a-_

"-or it _did_ happen and you're mental." My voice turned sickly sweet. "Satisfied?"


End file.
